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Buffy Sainte-Marie was stripped Friday of her Polaris Music Prizes, Juno Awards and Canadian Music Hall of Fame induction, as the fallout continues from an investigation that raised questions about her Indigenous ancestry and Canadian citizenship.
The Polaris Music Prize is rescinding two awards given to Buffy Sainte-Marie, the Canadian music organization announced in a statement on Friday.Meanwhile, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which administers the Juno Awards and Canadian Music Hall of Fame, said it was doing the same because Sainte-Marie doesn’t meet its eligibility requirements.
The Polaris said that the singer-songwriter is not a Canadian citizen, and therefore does not meet the prize’s criteria. Sainte-Marie, 82, recently confirmed that she is an American citizen, who holds a U.S. passport.
Earlier this month, after she was stripped of her Order of Canada, Sainte-Marie told the Canadian Press that she “made it completely clear” she was not Canadian to Rideau Hall, which bestowed the national order on her in 1997, and to former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau when he invited her to perform for Queen Elizabeth II in 1977.“Polaris is dedicated to celebrating the art of music based on artistic merit,” the statement said. “Through our awards and programs, we inspire music fans in Canada and across the world to champion important Canadian music.”