Utoo Radio with Other News Sources - February 9 2025 - Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Buffy Sainte-Marie has been stripped of her Order of Canada appointment after a scandal found her to have lied about her Indigenous heritage.

The Canadian government announced the termination of Sainte-Marie's appointment in the Canada Gazette on February 8, 2025.

Sainte-Marie, known for her activism songs and co-writing of the song "Up Where We Belong" for the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman, has received numerous Indigenous music awards.

CBC's Fifth Estate show in October 2023 alleged that Sainte-Marie fabricated her heritage, claiming to have been born on the Piapot Cree reservation near Craven, Saskatchewan.

Sainte-Marie denied the allegations, stating that she is proud of her Indigenous-American identity and the deep ties she has to Canada and her Piapot family.