‘Be gentle with yourself’: Indigenous Northerners wrestle with legacy of Buffy Sainte-Marie – CBC

Nov 01, 2023

‘No matter what’s said, what’s done, we have to maintain our humanity through it all,’ says festival organizer

When Gary Bailie thinks about Buffy Sainte-Marie, he remembers the kind words she said to him before one of her performances at the Blue Feather Music Festival in Whitehorse.

“She said, ‘You found your purpose,'” the longtime festival organizer recalled.

For Bailie, who has dedicated his time and energy for decades to making the festival a celebration of Indigenous music, that was “a pretty cool thing.”

Following a CBC Fifth Estate investigation into Sainte-Marie’s claims of Indigeneity, Bailie sees the hurt, anger and division the issue has stirred up.

Read More: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/be-gentle-with-yourself-indigenous-northerners-wrestle-with-legacy-of-buffy-sainte-marie-1.7014280