Buffy Sainte-Marie interviewed on Australian TV, 1972 (Video)

Born on the Piapot Reserve in Saskatchewan's Qu'Appelle Valley, Buffy Sainte-Marie was a writer of protest and love songs that became classics in the 1960s, and were recorded by such artists as Barbara Streisand, Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, and Janis Joplin.

Buffy was adopted and raised in Maine and Massachusetts. By the age of 24, Sainte-Marie had toured all over Europe, Canada, Australia and Asia. Billboard magazine named her "Best New Artist" for her debut album. During the Lyndon Johnson administration, Buffy was blacklisted along with Eartha Kitt and Taj Mahal, due to her honest, outspoken protestations.

Buffy has travelled worldwide working hard to preserve the intellectual property of all indigenous peoples. She currently heads the Nihewan Foundation for Native American education and has also created a scholarship fund for Native American study. -SOURCE

In 1976, Sainte-Marie quit recording to raise her son and to continue as a student of experimental music. In 1993 she returned to music and recorded "Coincidence and Likely Stories." That same year, she helped establish a new JUNO Awards category for aboriginal music. 1993 continued to be a banner year for her as she headlined a concert of indigenous artists in Lapland. The program was televised in Germany, Sweden, Norway and Finland. France named her best international artist for 1993, and the United Nations asked her to proclaim the International Year of Indigenous People.