Oscar-winning folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie has been stripped of an honorary degree as the fallout over her disputed Native American ancestry claims keeps growing.
The University of Toronto announced Wednesday it has rescinded the singer-songwriter’s honorary Doctor of Laws degree, which she received in 2019 for her work in music, the arts and social advocacy.
A university spokesperson said the move followed a confidential review process that ended with approval from the school’s governing council.
The decision comes two and a half years after CBC’s “The Fifth Estate” published an investigation into Sainte-Marie’s Indigenous identity claims in October 2023.
The report cited a birth certificate showing Sainte-Marie was born in Massachusetts to Italian-American parents, contradicting decades of biographies and press coverage describing her as Algonquin, Mi’kmaw and later Cree.
Last year, Sainte-Marie told the Canadian Press she is an American citizen with a US passport who was adopted as a young adult by a Cree family in Saskatchewan.
Sainte-Marie became a major folk music star in the 1960s and frequently performed music tied to her claimed Cree heritage.
She later appeared on “Sesame Street” and won an Oscar in 1983 for co-writing “Up Where We Belong” from “An Officer and a Gentleman,” becoming the first Indigenous person to win the award.
Sainte-Marie announced her retirement from live performances in August 2023, citing health concerns and physical challenges related to touring.
The University of Toronto said only two honorary degrees have been revoked since the school created its recognition review committee in 2023. The other belonged to Duncan Campbell Scott.
Columbia University professor Audra Simpson, who is Kanien’kehá:ka from Kahnawà:ke, called the decision overdue.
“A just consequence for both him and for her, who have both acted on the imperatives of settler colonialism in different ways and in different time periods,” Simpson told CBC.
“I hope it sends a message.”
Toronto’s move comes just months after Dalhousie University stripped Sainte-Marie of another honorary degree in January following questions raised by a Mi’kmaw student.
Sainte-Marie has received about 15 honorary doctorates over the years from schools including the University of British Columbia, the University of Regina and Carleton University — putting more of her academic honors under renewed scrutiny.
After the CBC investigation aired in 2023, Sainte-Marie blasted the allegations she faked her Native American ancestry, calling the report “traumatizing and unfair.”
“This has been incredibly re-traumatizing for me and unfair to all involved,” she told The Hollywood Reporter.
“The attack on my character is full of mistakes and omissions,” she said.
Sainte-Marie also accused her estranged brother Alan — whose claims were featured in the investigation — of sexually abusing her.
“It hurts me deeply to discover that my estranged family grew up scared of me and thinking these lies because of a letter I sent intended to protect me from further abuse from my brother,” she said.
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