Buffy Sainte-Marie

Buffy Sainte-Marie became famous in the Sixties for writing songs of love and conscience, like "Universal Soldier", "Now that the Buffalo's Gone", and "Until It's Time for You to Go", which has been recorded by over 200 artists in 16 different languages. She was Billboard's Best New Artist following the release of her first record.

She received her degree in Oriental Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts, later got a teaching degree, and finally a Ph.D in Fine Arts.

Buffy founded the Nihewan Foundation for American Indian Education on the basis of her love of teaching, her belief in Native American potential, and her newly found financial success in the music industry. Over the past twenty-eight years, the Nihewan Foundation has continued to reroute Buffy's own personal monies - sometimes fat and sometimes lean - into the lives of Indian students across America. Two recipients of Nihewan scholarships have gone on to become the presidents of Tribal Colleges of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) group.

In the Seventies Buffy continued to develop her interest in electronic music and computers, to work extensively with the American Indian Movement, and to record and tour internationally. She received Europe's Premio Roma Award, and a medal from Queen Elizabeth II after a command performance in Ottawa. She sang and composed music for "Soldier Blue", "Spirit of the Wind", "Strawberry Statement", and Mick Jagger's first film, "Performance". As part of accepting a role in "The Virginian", Buffy became the first Native American actor in movies to successfully insist that all the Native roles be played by Native American actors and actresses.

In 1976 her son was born and she quit recording, having released 14 albums. For the next 5 years she appeared on "Sesame Street", working in episodes dealing with breast feeding, sibling rivalry, and Native culture. The personal mandate she chose to bring to the Native American episodes was clearly that "Indians exist". In 1977, she brought "Sesame Street" to Kauai for several weeks of multicultural episodes.
In the Eighties she raised her son, wrote songs, limited her concerts to Indian reservation communities and UNICEF. She traveled extensively in Europe and Asia, acting as a cultural bridge between indigenous and mainstream thinkers, and addressed Europe's colloquium of philosophers as keynote speaker on "Minorities dans le Pensee". (Minorities in the World of Thought)

She won an Academy Award for the song "Up Where We Belong" from the film "An Officer and a Gentleman". She appeared in a major role in Turner Network's movie "The Broken Chain" in the fall of 1993, pushing for accuracy and the involvement of grassroots cultural experts.

In March of 1992 in Canada at the JUNO Awards, Buffy helped to establish the new category "Music of Aboriginal Canada".

In France she was presented with the Charles de Gaulle award for "Best International Artist " for her 1993 CD, "Coincidence and Likely Stories".

In 1994, Buffy received The Lifetime Achievement Award in her home province of Saskatchewan, by the Saskatchewan Recording Industry Association.

In 1995, the Canadian music industry inducted Buffy into the JUNO Hall of Fame.

In 1996 she received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Regina.

Buffy Sainte-Marie teaches fine art on the Macintosh computer as Adjunct Professor of Fine Arts at Saskatchewan Indian Federated College, and at York University. She recently taught at the Evergreen State College as an Evans Chair Scholar in the disciplines of philosophy, Native studies, electronic music, and digital art. Her paintings have been exhibited at the Emily Carr College of Fine Arts in Vancouver, the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, the McKenzie Gallery in Regina, and the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum in Santa Fe. Her one-woman show "Painting with Light" ran twice in Toronto: at the former Isaacs Gallery, and later at the Art and Events Gallery.


In January of 1997, Buffy sang a concert of her music with Canada's Regina Symphony Orchestra, including a full cast of grassroots powwow singers and dancers onstage and an Art Auction prior to the concert, all for the benefit of the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College.

Buffy's newest album “Up Where We Belong” was released in 1996 in Canada on EMI Records, and won the 1997 JUNO Award (Canada’s version of a Grammy) for Best Music of Aboriginal Canada.

In the spring of 1997, Buffy received a Gemini Award (Canada’s version of an Emmy) for Best Performance in a Variety Special called “Up Where We Belong”, now available on Videocassette.

In 1997, Buffy was presented with the Louis T. Delgado Award as Native American Philanthropist of the Year for her work in the Nihewan Foundation and The Cradleboard Teaching Project.

In May of 1998, Buffy Sainte-Marie was invested as an Officer in the Order of Canada, which is the highest offer that country can bestow.

She received the American Indian College Fund's Lifetime Achievement Award in November of 1998, and she serves on the First Lady's committee to "Save America's Treasures".

This year Buffy Sainte-Marie is working full time on the Cradleboard Teaching Project, a project presented by her Nihewan Foundation. The Cradleboard Teaching Project facilitates communication among First Nations and Mainstream school children in the U.S., through the use of computer networking. Through the President’s Initiative on Race, the White House now links to the Cradleboard website as an example of Promising Practices.