Buffy Ste Marie - FNH Magazine Article

Sometimes we are lucky enough to get a glimpse of person’s life, like looking at a landscape painting in a gallery. If you approached one, you wouldn’t dare assume that the painter saw only the world in small squares. And if you looked long enough, your own imagination would fill in the grey space; where a rock face becomes a mountain range, and painted harbors whisper of shores on the other side of the world.

This is the sense one gets of the life of Buffy Ste Marie. She seems to represent something more than a singer, an educator, or an activist. Perhaps that was why she has received eight Honorary Doctorates, and why we were honored to interview her about them:

People get really excited when they know you're coming to town, especially around here. Did you imagine that you'd be creating and having an audience for this long?

Thanks for the good words. No I didn't think I'd last in show biz more than a week, but I expected the songs might, and I deliberately tried to make certain songs that would cross languages and generations. The songs were about classic human themes, including the ones about specific Aboriginal issues.

Your first honorary doctorate is from the University of Regina (1996).  What did you think when you'd received the news?

I thought it was really nice, especially since it was a Doctor of Laws degree, which is their highest honour; and for them to give me this particular degree represented sort of a wonderful milestone in Regina, which has so many times been associated with systemic racism. Also because they are a sister university to the (then) brand new First Nations University in Regina it meant a lot to me, as I too support FNU. The acceptance speech I gave focused on ‘Whose heritage is it anyway?’ I love interacting with universities. In a way they are the most conservative but also the most liberating of institutions […] I hated high school but loved university. It saved my life and I recommend university to anybody who can possibly get there.

In your acceptance speech, you said,  "the teachers who taught me best were people who never had the ghost of a chance to go to university. So I take great delight in sharing this honour you give me with them." Have people come forward to thank you for this?

Oh gosh, people come up to me after every concert, every speech, and I know so many people in Regina. And people in Regina particularly are used to me being grateful to family and community people, and yes they express their thanks to me for the little things I do too. In the last few months I've done the Aboriginal Achievement Awards, the Regina Folk Festival, and a couple of weeks ago the commemoration and symphony concert for Chief Paipot, so there's been a lot of thanks and pride going around. We all acknowledge each other, express thanks and gratitude […] It's kind of a family tradition.

Is there something you'd like to say to those considering University that would help them on their future journey?

I hated high school (really needed to get out of town), but I loved university. It changed my life big time. My advice: if there's any way, give it a try. Try it semester by semester. If you hate it, you can discontinue. But every semester you get more great subjects to choose from. Interesting things you choose yourself from a very delicious catalog, subjects that high school never mentioned. […] You'll have a roof over your head for four great growing up years and come out the other side with a degree and a head full of experiences.

             Buffy Ste Marie’s life – and the effects of her work reaches much further than this record can attest. She also created the Nihewan foundation to “help people go to college,” and also created the Cradleboard project to “serve kids in grades 3-12 and teachers college.” Her work in education, like her music and her words – like the waters of an ocean, seem to touch the harbors of many shores.

Find out more about Buffy Ste Marie at www.buffystemarie.com