Buffy Sainte-Marie

Buffy Sainte-Marie

1941-02-20

Biography

Canadian-born American singer-songwriter, guitarist, political activist, and visual artist known especially for her use of music to promote awareness of issues affecting Native Americans. Orphaned as an infant in Canada when her mother, a Plains Cree, died in an auto accident, Sainte-Marie was adopted by an U.S. couple of Mi’kmaq ancestry and raised in Massachusetts & Maine. Her earliest days as a self-taught folk singer were spent shaking up the coffeehouses and consciousnesses in Greenwich Village and helping Joni Mitchell get discovered. Along with her lifelong commitment to and advocacy for Indigenous and Aboriginal people around the world, she has changed the education system from within, and maintained an unwavering passion for social justice, equality and the Earth mixed with her love of sound and songs. Her legacy is that of as an ever-curious, ever-evolving, and technologically pioneering musician, producer, composer and artist — despite her inability to read a note of music.

Also appears in

Greenwich Village: Music That Defined a Generation

Greenwich Village: Music That Defined a Generation

7.0

Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World

Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World

7.7

Broken Rainbow

Broken Rainbow

5.6

A Walking Tour of Sesame Street

A Walking Tour of Sesame Street

Not yet rated

The Broken Chain

The Broken Chain

3.0

Festival

Festival

5.7

The Doctrine of Discovery: Unmasking the Domination Code

The Doctrine of Discovery: Unmasking the Domination Code

Not yet rated

Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On

Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On

8.0

Making a Noise: A Native American Musical Journey with Robbie Robertson

Making a Noise: A Native American Musical Journey with Robbie Robertson

Not yet rated

Uranium

Uranium

Not yet rated

Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble

Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble

5.5

Saint Misbehavin’: The Wavy Gravy Movie

Saint Misbehavin’: The Wavy Gravy Movie

6.0

As Long as the Rivers Run

As Long as the Rivers Run

Not yet rated

Buffy Sainte-Marie: A Multimedia Life

Buffy Sainte-Marie: A Multimedia Life

Not yet rated

Walkabout to Hollywood

Walkabout to Hollywood

Not yet rated

Buffy

Buffy

7.0