A group of Indigenous women says the International Emmy Award for a documentary about folk legend Buffy Sainte-Marie feels like a “slap in the face.”
The Indigenous Women’s Collective describes itself as a group of mothers, grandmothers, academics and activists advocating to stop colonial violence against Indigenous women.
The collective says in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “documentaries are supposed to present factual information.”
Documentaries are supposed to present factual information. An Emmy win is a slap in the face to so many Indigenous people tonight.
Pretendianism is an act of colonial violence and should never be celebrated. We can not denounce it for one, and ignore it for another.
Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On, a documentary made before the singer’s Indigenous ancestry was called into question, won in the arts programming category.
An investigation by CBC’s The Fifth Estate released in October contradicts Sainte-Marie’s claims to Indigenous identity.
Sainte-Marie has denied the accusation and White Pine Pictures, one of the companies that produced the documentary, says in a statement on its website that it stands behind the musician.
