Buffy Sainte-Marie Stripped of Order of Canada Honor After Indigenous Heritage Scandal [Video]

Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Buffy Sainte-Marie has been stripped of her prestigious Order of Canada appointment, more than one year after a scandal that found the singer allegedly lied about her Indigenous heritage.

On Saturday, Feb. 8, the Canadian government published the announcement in the most recent edition of the Canada Gazette, writing: “Notice is hereby given that the appointment of Buffy Sainte-Marie to the Order of Canada was terminated by Ordinance signed by the Governor General on Jan. 3, 2025.”

The Toronto Star was the first to report the news.

Known for her songs of activism including “Universal Soldier” and “Now That the Buffalo’s Gone,” Sainte-Marie, 83, was once considered to be the first Indigenous person to win an Oscar for co-writing the song “Up Where We Belong” for the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman, according to CBC, which first investigated Sainte-Marie’s alleged lies about her ethnicity …