Bites the dust…
Yet another ‘claimant’ to be a native turns out not to be…
One of Canada’s most prominent Indigenous icons might not be Indigenous after all, according to media reports.
Buffy Sainte-Marie, who was considered the first Indigenous person to win an Oscar, has always claimed to be a Cree Indian born in Canada who was then adopted by an American couple and raised near Boston. The singer-songwriter is known for her appearance on Sesame Street, was commemorated on Canadian postage stamps and performed for Queen Elizabeth II.
Full article, HERE from Fox.
I know a lot of…entertainers, etc. have looked for that ‘edge’ that broke them out from the crowd, but with the depth of research tools available today, I wonder how many more will be outed…
And what will the fallout be?
Shades of Shaun King, Rachael Dolenz and Elizabeth Warren.
Much more information is in the CBC article from Oct 27: “Who is the real Buffy Sainte-Marie?”: https://is.gd/WoDYKj
Which begs the question. What about Cher?
I’m fairly certain that Cher’s roots were pretty well known. But I guess I should look it up.
Looking into it, her mother was part Cherokee, or at least claimed to be (Actress Georgia Holt). So who knows? She certainly looks it.
I find this funny, for the following reason:
I’m part American Indian (I’ve related this story to some of you before). I discovered this in the late 60’s when my mom let it slip and I thought it was the coolest thing ever!
And then I got ‘The Lecture’.
The lecture was that (living in NY just outside of NYC) that letting people KNOW about it would probably get me in trouble if I was lucky, beaten and possibly killed if I was not. Because there was a LOT of prejudice against American Indians and people who were part American Indian (more so than against Blacks) in that part of the country back in the 50’s and the 60’s and even into the 70’s.
I found out (shortly after this discovery) that my Mom’s sister’s in-laws HATED AMERICAN INDIANS with the burning passion of a hundred stars (and didn’t know their son had married one – I sometimes wonder now if my uncle ever knew). Because some relatives had been massacred by them and they were by no means over it.
(Mind you we were raised Catholic because Mom was – Dad was Lutheran – and yeah, we got a lot more discriminated against that than the Jews did in our town, but no one talks about that. Oh! And Mom was mostly Irish, those who know history know how badly the Irish got it too – remember that scene in Blazing saddles? Yeah, that shit also happened).
By the late late 70’s early 80’s when it became ‘okay’ to talk about that stuff, I asked Mom about it, and she didn’t know what tribe it was. Such and such relatives knew (they lived up in Utica and Rome NY) and by the time I was able to go meet them, such and such had all died. I would have chalked it all up to just a family myth until I got a DNA test and low and behold, on my mothers side I do in fact have ALL of the Native American Markers.
So one of these days I’ll go back on History dot com and do mom’s side (already did Dad’s and one of his uncles – who I’m not descended from – Married into the Apaches).
So when I see these people making these claims now, I have to laugh, because the people in New England who really were? They all kept their mouths shut because they didn’t want to catch a beating.
I have some Native American on mom’s side. I learned that from the DNA testing. We really had no idea. I wasn’t really surprised though. Our family has been in the US for centuries.
Iron Eyes Cody (he of the crying Indian eco-ad) was Sicilian and that came out in the 90s , so this isn’t new at all.
Hey Old NFO;
Yeah…probably nothing..especially if she is of the “leftist Persuasion” look at Fauxahauntis er I mean Warren, they didn’t do a thing. now if that person was of a conservative mindset…out would come the pitchforks oil and torches.
Myths abound in family lore. As kids I was told by an uncle that there was ma female ancestor that was kidnapped by Cherokee Natives and that through her we had a certain amount of Cherokee blood. Checked my DNS and found that to be totally untrue. My DNA says I am totally European. With the most being Scottish, Irish, English, with German and Swiss also. Just a European mongrel, no Native American.
Not necessarily untrue. DNA is weird. What shows up in one person may not show up in that person’s sibling. All depends on what genes are dominant and what mutations may have occurred.
Claiming that you are “special” because of your ancestor(s) is the same argument used for hereditary aristocracy. It’s the same motivation as “stolen valour”, claiming credit for things you have not done.
The irony is that the same people who claim that race makes them different and special, also whine about “racism”.
As Thomas Sowell points out, there is not a single major people-group anywhere in the world that has not been involved in some form of “invasion” at some time in their history.
England has been invaded by Celts, Romans, Irish (long before the Anglo-Normans went to Ireland BY INVITATION) , the Scots, the Saxons, the Danes, the Normans, the Dutch and the French. Not to mention threats from the Spaniards and the Germans. The English have more bloody Revolutions and Civil Wars than America, by a considerable margin. They aren’t still refighting the Battle of Hastings or claiming Special Victim Status as a result of The Harrying of the North by William of Normandy.
The sooner we regard history and genetics as interesting, but of marginal relevance and stop pretending that events from centuries ago are relevant today – and I’m including those of us with Irish Ancestry – the better. Otherwise, be are repeating the stupidity that has kept the Middle-East and the Balkans in violent turmoil.
All- Good points raised by everybody, thanks! John, that is one helluva story!
I’ve got enough Cherokee to claim status, but the rest of my genetics would’ve gotten me into the SS. This broad is either lying or playing the same angle.