Program note, Nov. 29, 2023: Since this podcast’s release in 2022, there have been reports that call into question Buffy's birth story and her Indigenous identity. Buffy Sainte-Marie is one of the most prolific singer-songwriters of the past century. For 60 years her music has quietly reverberated throughout pop culture, and provided a touchstone for Indigenous resistance. In this five-part series, Mohawk and Tuscarora writer Falen Johnson explores how Buffy’s life and legacy is essential to understanding Indigenous resilience.
Latest episodes
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2 min
E6: Postscript
Host Falen Johnson reflects on significant updates since the series release in 2022.
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9 min
Buffy Introduces: American Masters: Creative Spark
Buffy Sainte-Marie, a Cree musician, artist and activist, has always been ahead of the curve. For six decades, she’s fought for Indigenous rights and visibility through her work. S…
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57 min
Buffy Introduces: Buffy Sainte-Marie on Broken Record
We’re sharing an episode from our friends over at Broken Record. On Broken Record from Pushkin Industries, acclaimed producer Rick Rubin, bestselling author Malcom Gladwell, produc…
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31 min
E5: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Buffy's free in Hawaii. It's been 16 years since her last record and she’s ready for a comeback. But she's determined to do things her way and in 1992 she records Coincidence and L…
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36 min
E4: The Spotlight
Now in her mid-30s, Buffy makes her historical Sesame Street debut in 1975, singing to Muppets about Indigenous languages, cultures, and so much more. She becomes the first woman t…
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29 min
E3: Qu’Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan
A chance encounter at a powwow leads Buffy to the place she might have been born. It’s a personal journey entwined in a political one, and she sees what her budding fame could mean…
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33 min
E2: Universal Soldier
Buffy is traveling from gig to gig in the 60s, armed with her guitar and little else. She makes a splash on the coffeehouse folk scene, rubbing shoulders with artists like Joni Mit…
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35 min
E1: Javex, USA
On a cold February day in the Canadian prairies, a Cree baby named Beverly Sainte-Marie is born. But she’s sent far away to live with an adoptive family in a small American town sh…
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3 min
Introducing Buffy
For a lot of Indigenous people, Buffy Sainte-Marie is known as the most celebrated musician ever. But she’s also known as the most under-acknowledged musician of her time. Why is t…