Marie, the Canadian-American singer with a large and devoted following of fans and who won a Best Song Oscar for “Up Where We Belong,” has had her prestigious Order of Canada honor terminated following an investigation into her heritage that indicates she is not Indigenous as she has long claimed.

“Notice is hereby given that the appointment of Buffy Sainte-Marie to the Order of Canada was terminated by Ordinance signed by the Governor General on January 3, 2025,” a Feb. 8 notice in the Canada Gazette, the federal government’s official publication, stated.

The Canadian government has stripped Oscar-winning singer Buffy Sainte-Marie of her Order of Canada honor. The CBC previously published a report in 2023 which alleged that Sainte-Marie lied about her Indigenous heritage.

Buffy Sainte-Marie was stripped of the Order of Canada following reports that the 83-year-old singer-activist fabricated her Indigenous background.

Singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie has been stripped of her appointment to the Order of Canada, the nation’s second-highest award for merit. The action comes more than one year after an investigation that found the 83-year-old singer allegedly lied about her Indigenous heritage, People reported.

The news comes following a 2023 CBC report that questioned the singer-songwriter’s claims to Indigenous heritage