Human rights museum removes Buffy Sainte-Marie from exhibit

WINNIPEG — The Canadian Museum for Human Rights has removed singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie from an exhibit because of questions about her First Nations identity.

The musician and activist was among more than a dozen people featured in an exhibit at the Winnipeg museum titled “human rights defenders” until December.

A museum official says the move was made following a CBC report that said Sainte-Marie has a birth certificate from Massachusetts and that family members in the U.S. indicated she doesn’t have Indigenous heritage.

Matthew Cutler, the museum’s vice-president of exhibitions says that after the report there were extensive consultations with Indigenous communities and advisers.

Sainte-Marie has said the report contained mistakes and omissions and that she has never lied about her identity.

Sainte-Marie’s Order of Canada appointment was terminated last month, and officials with the Juno Awards are reviewing the five music awards she has won over the years.

Cutler says the decision at the museum took time.

“We know that Indigenous identity is sensitive and that Indigenous people themselves and the nations that folks claim are the ones to make the decision about who is a member and who’s not,” Cutler said Thursday.

“There were folks who, over the course of the year that we had conversations, at the beginning were fierce defenders of Buffy. And as more information came out … perspectives shifted.”

A refresh of the exhibit was set for December anyway, Cutler said.

Sainte-Marie was also to be featured in a travelling exhibit about how music can be a force for change but was taken out before the exhibit opened, he added

Sainte-Marie’s Indigenous culture was a central part of her identity as she rose to fame in the 1960s. But there were conflicting stories about her adoption and heritage throughout her career.

Now 84, Sainte-Marie has retired from live performances.

Attempts to reach Sainte-Marie through Paquin Entertainment, the management company listed on her website, were not answered.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2025.

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press