Buffy Sainte-Marie, wearing a shining dress and long necklace, was led on the stage by a group of Indigenous people in traditional regalia after she was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1995.
Her iconic dark hair and fringe hung long as she told the crowd about the importance of artists from remote communities.
SA国际影视传媒淢ost especially in the whole wide world, ISA国际影视传媒檇 like to acknowledge all the grassroots Indian artists who havenSA国际影视传媒檛 yet taken home a Juno, but who continue, as they have in the past, to capture our hearts at powwows across Canada, doing that magic which music does so well,SA国际影视传媒� Sainte-Marie said to applause.
Those words now ring hollow for some Indigenous musicians after a recent CBC News report raised doubts about the singerSA国际影视传媒檚 ancestry.
Some musicians say they were disappointed to learn they may have lost career-shaping industry awards to someone who may be neither Indigenous nor Canadian. They say it amounted to lost opportunities at critical times in their careers.
SA国际影视传媒淛uno winners have toured the country and the world, and the runners-up get to play the neighbourhood pubs and occasional summer festival,SA国际影视传媒� said Billy Joe Green, an Anishinaabe rock and blues musician who was a nominee for Indigenous Music Album of the Year in 2009 when Sainte-Marie took home the honour.
SA国际影视传媒淩esentful? I canSA国际影视传媒檛 afford that luxury.SA国际影视传媒�
Sainte-Marie has received numerous Junos, the $50,000 Polaris Music Prize in 2015 and a Polaris heritage award for her 1964 debut album SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 My Way!,SA国际影视传媒� among a slew of other honours.
The story of her birth, childhood and identity has shifted throughout her six-decade career, with her identifying as Algonquin and MiSA国际影视传媒檏maq before saying she was Cree, adopted from a mother in Saskatchewan.
However, CBC located her birth certificate, which says Sainte-Marie was born in 1941 in Stoneham, Mass. The document lists the baby and parents as white and includes a signature of an attending physician. CBC said Sainte-MarieSA国际影视传媒檚 marriage certificate, a life insurance policy, the United States census and interviews with family members corroborate the information on the birth certificate.
Sainte-Marie, 82, said in a statement the day before CBCSA国际影视传媒檚 story ran that she doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 know who her birth parents are or where sheSA国际影视传媒檚 from, but called herself SA国际影视传媒渁 proud member of the Native community with deep roots in Canada.SA国际影视传媒�
While Sainte-MarieSA国际影视传媒檚 career was skyrocketing in the 1960s, Green was also trying to make it in music, never surrendering to SA国际影视传媒渢he day-to-day rejection, racism and to the many number of obstaclesSA国际影视传媒� that came his way.
A lifeSA国际影视传媒檚 work culminated with the Juno nomination for his album SA国际影视传媒淔irst Law of the LandSA国际影视传媒� in 2009. While Sainte-Marie took home the hardware and accolades, Green said his opportunities evaporated and he struggles to make a decent living despite playing better than he ever has.
SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檝e accepted SA国际影视传媒榣ife on lifeSA国际影视传媒檚 termsSA国际影视传媒� for the most part,SA国际影视传媒� Green said in an online message to The Canadian Press. SA国际影视传媒淵et, ISA国际影视传媒檓 still reflecting on this very unpleasant circumstance that confronts all who lost opportunities.SA国际影视传媒�
Karmen Omeasoo, who performs under the name HellnbacK, was nominated the same year as Sainte-Marie as part of the hip-hop group Team Rezofficial.
He first met Sainte-Marie as a child, with his mother explaining that she was an icon, so he understood losing to someone of her stature.
SA国际影视传媒淚f we get beat by her, who cares?SA国际影视传媒� Omeasoo said in an interview. SA国际影视传媒淚f one of us wins, we all win. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 what it felt like SA国际影视传媒� I held onto that.SA国际影视传媒�
Now that feeling is gone. He thinks about all the Indigenous musicians who could have won and what it would have meant for their careers SA国际影视传媒� recognition, radio play, touring opportunities, record sales.
SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檓 feeling very duped. Like something was taken from me. Something was taken from all these other artists,SA国际影视传媒� he said.
Omeasoo said he can only speak for himself, not all Indigenous musicians. But, he said, the revelations have shaken him to his core. He imagines how meaningful it would have been to bring the Juno back to his First Nation in Maskwacis, Alta.
SA国际影视传媒淚 could have brought that hardware back home to my mom, my dad, my grandma, my kids.SA国际影视传媒�
He continues to create with his wife, Lisa Muswagon, under the name The Resilience, but said itSA国际影视传媒檚 a constant battle to make music and provide for their children.
Chester Knight, who was nominated alongside Sainte-Marie in 1997, said his album SA国际影视传媒淔reedomSA国际影视传媒� should have won the Juno because his was actually an album for Indigenous people. The song SA国际影视传媒淟ove Me StrongSA国际影视传媒� was SA国际影视传媒減opular then and has grown to be even more popular now,SA国际影视传媒� he said.
There have been calls for the Junos to rescind Sainte-MarieSA国际影视传媒檚 awards. An emailed statement said the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which oversees the Junos, is aware of doubts about Sainte-MarieSA国际影视传媒檚 ancestry.
SA国际影视传媒淲e are processing the information presented and are consulting with our Indigenous Music Advisory Committee, other community members and key stakeholders,SA国际影视传媒� the statement said.
Knight, who is from Muskoday First Nation in Saskatchewan, said the Juno Awards mean a lot to the artists competing for them.
SA国际影视传媒淚t is unfair to my brother and sister artists who grow up in poverty and racism, and are somehow able to create something of emotional value like I did,SA国际影视传媒� he said in an email.
SA国际影视传媒淎rtists have to raise a family and balance a music career and a job career to fuel the production of an album.SA国际影视传媒�
Black Bear, a drum group from Manawan First Nation in Quebec, was nominated in the same category as Sainte-Marie for SA国际影视传媒淐ome and Get Your Love: The Tribe SessionSA国际影视传媒� in 2016. The group said in a message to The Canadian Press they SA国际影视传媒渨ork and walk in truth and this includes being true to yourself, your family and friends.SA国际影视传媒�
SA国际影视传媒淲e certainly donSA国际影视传媒檛 know where to stand considering what (Sainte-Marie) has done for Indigenous artists and done to those same artists as well by taking away opportunities like Junos.SA国际影视传媒�
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