{"id":577,"date":"2026-05-15T14:11:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T14:11:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/humanitystories.pics\/?p=577"},"modified":"2026-05-15T14:11:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T14:11:44","slug":"oscar-winning-folk-singer-buffy-sainte-marie-stripped-of-honorary-degree-after-faking-indigenous-ancestry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humanitystories.pics\/?p=577","title":{"rendered":"Oscar-winning folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie stripped of honorary degree after faking Indigenous ancestry"},"content":{"rendered":"
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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.<\/p>\n

The University of Toronto\u00a0announced Wednesday<\/a>\u00a0it has rescinded the singer-songwriter\u2019s honorary Doctor of Laws degree, which she received in 2019 for her work in music, the arts and social advocacy.<\/p>\n

A university spokesperson said the move followed a confidential review process that ended with approval from the school\u2019s governing council.<\/p>\n

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Buffy Sainte-Marie receives an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Dalhousie University on April 17, 2018.Alamy Stock Photo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The decision comes two and a half years after CBC\u2019s \u201cThe Fifth Estate\u201d published an investigation into\u00a0Sainte-Marie\u2019s Indigenous identity claims<\/a>\u00a0in October 2023.<\/p>\n

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\u2019kmaw and later Cree.<\/p>\n