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The University of Toronto has rescinded Buffy Sainte-Marie\u2019s honorary degree, following a petition to revoke the honour.<\/p>\n
The musician was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the university in 2019. At the time, a U of T publication said Sainte-Marie was being recognized for her work in music and the arts and for her advocacy work for “the rights and dignity of all people.”<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the university said in a statement the rescindment came into effect Wednesday following a confidential process<\/a> that ended with the governing council’s decision.<\/p>\n Sainte-Marie came under fire after an investigation into her claims of Indigenous identity by the CBC\u2019s The Fifth Estate in 2023<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The report uncovered a birth certificate indicating she was born in Massachusetts to Italian-American parents, contradicting earlier press that identified her as Algonquin, Mi\u2019kmaw and later Cree. <\/p>\n Sainte-Marie\u00a0told The Canadian Press<\/a>\u00a0last year she is an American citizen who holds a U.S. passport and was adopted as a young adult by a Cree family in Saskatchewan. <\/p>\n Sainte-Marie\u2019s management and media team did not respond to requests for comment before time of publishing.<\/p>\n ‘A just consequence’<\/p>\n Last year, the university announced it had rescinded an honorary degree given to Duncan Campbell Scott in 1921.<\/p>\n Scott’s degree had been in recognition of contributions to Canadian literature as a poet, but he also worked in the Department of Indian Affairs from 1879 to 1932, the last 19 years serving as deputy superintendent. He pursued assimilation policies like the expansion of Indian Residential Schools, and was quoted as wanting to “get rid of the Indian problem.”<\/a><\/p>\n