7 episodes
Buffy CBC Arts & Entertainment
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- Arts
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4.7 • 280 Ratings
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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.
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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 this Indigenous icon still unknown to so many? From the Occupation of Alcatraz to Sesame Street, Mohawk and Tuscarora host Falen Johnson goes on an intimate journey through the life and music of Buffy Sainte-Marie. Episodes release Tuesdays, starting June 21.
Program Note [Dec, 05 2023] Since the podcast’s release in 2022, there have been significant updates. Listen to the series postscript here: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/1064-buffy/episode/16027869-e6-postscript -
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 she later dubs Javex, USA, because it was so white. She finds refuge in music and discovers a one-way ticket to freedom: her guitar. Beverly becomes Buffy.
For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/buffy-transcripts-listen-1.6796442
Program Note [Dec, 05 2023] Since the podcast’s release in 2022, there have been significant updates. Listen to the series postscript here: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/1064-buffy/episode/16027869-e6-postscript -
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 Mitchell and Bob Dylan. Tectonic changes are around the corner, and her rising success comes with some hard lessons about who to trust — and what it means to be a Indigenous woman in the music business.
For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/buffy-transcripts-listen-1.6796442
Program Note [Dec, 05 2023] Since the podcast’s release in 2022, there have been significant updates. Listen to the series postscript here: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/1064-buffy/episode/16027869-e6-postscript -
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 for Indigenous rights. She heads to the original #LandBack movement, the Occupation of Alcatraz, and starts taking every opportunity to speak out about Indigenous rights. Buffy’s voice, loud and clear, becomes the soundtrack for the movement.
For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/buffy-transcripts-listen-1.6796442
Program Note [Dec, 05 2023] Since the podcast’s release in 2022, there have been significant updates. Listen to the series postscript here: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/1064-buffy/episode/16027869-e6-postscript -
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 to breastfeed on TV and the first Indigenous person to take home an Oscar. But as she makes giant strides for visibility, there are powerful forces trying to make her disappear.
For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/buffy-transcripts-listen-1.6796442
Program Note [Dec, 05 2023] Since the podcast’s release in 2022, there have been significant updates. Listen to the series postscript here: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/1064-buffy/episode/16027869-e6-postscript -
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 Likely Stories, the first album made over the internet. Like always, Buffy continues to carve out space for other Indigenous artists. An award she helps to create has a ripple effect around the world – ensuring a strong, Indigenous future for music.
For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/buffy-transcripts-listen-1.6796442
Program Note [Dec, 05 2023] Since the podcast’s release in 2022, there have been significant updates. Listen to the series postscript here: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/1064-buffy/episode/16027869-e6-postscript
Customer Reviews
Thank you!
As a white woman and a musician growing up in the states who was raised on my mother’s Joni Mitchell records, it’s shameful I had never heard of Buffy. Not only is she one of the greatest musicians and songwriters of our time, but she is responsible for so many other white stars’ careers (including of course, Joni’s). How white people in the industry hid her labor as an indigenous woman is abhorrent but not shocking. How many times have I belted “Up where we belong” ignorant to the woman who wrote its melody?! Anyone who loves music needs to listen to this podcast!
Not Indigenous
Buffy is not indigenous but a cultural appropriator who fooled everyone. She should divest herself of all the wealth she amassed while posing as indigenous
Buffy!!!!
This beautifully made show made my heart swell, sent tears down my cheeks, and filled in so many gaps I didn’t know I had. Buffy did THAT? And THAT??? Thank you for crafting this incredible series about an incomparable woman. I 🧡 Buffy.