Buffy

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.

Recent Episodes
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Recent Reviews
  • Abellaphoenix
    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
  • Loyal666
    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!
  • Eve the Listener
    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.
  • bazingi
    Absolutely love learning Buffy’s story and the storytelling
    It is so interesting to know how Buffy Ste-Marie’s epic story unfolded, and her story is beautifully told. Absolutely recommend this podcast!
  • SF Live
    Best show about our indigenous sister ever
    Loved this podcast about Buffy and told by an indigenous writer/producer. Yesssss.
  • Qzulz
    Buffy
    I’ve listened to 2 episodes so far of the Buffy podcast and am thoroughly enjoying it. I remember when Buffy was in the limelight, even though I was more of a rock’n roller and not as much into folk music. I recently came in on the end of a PBS episode about her and learned things that I did not know. Your podcast is informative about her and her life, and I am beyond impressed with this fabulous woman/person. I’m excited about hearing the other episodes. Keep up the good work. Buffy is an absolute treasure. Thank you for covering her and her life.
  • henryv
    Captivating Storytelling
    I binged Buffy in a day straight through. Wow. I was blown away by the storytelling.
  • KJ - avid podcaster
    Buffy
    I was captivated by the first episode and will surely continue to listen! I already had an enormous appreciation for Buffy Sainte-Marie, but my appreciation has deepened, thanks to the compelling narration and quality of production, but mostly to Buffy herself for her brilliance. Thank you again and I look forward to listening further!
  • Teeny L.
    Wonderful Show
    This was one of the best podcasts I’ve listen to in some time. The show skillfully blends Indigenous history, the personal story of Buffy Sainte Marie, and the hardships of the music industry. Inspiring and thoughtful. I highly recommend this podcast!!
  • Needham1533
    Super interesting
    I had seen the biography written about Buffy in a bookstore and have been interested in her story since. This podcast was very interesting because it details the life journey of an artist that has had a great impact on the music industry and culture as a whole. It was so good I binged the whole thing in a single day. I highly recommend.
  • rlk125
    Buffy mania!
    So thrilled to get an in depth look at Buffy - was enraptured as a little girl watching her for the first time on Sesame Street. The interviews and recordings are terrific. I’ve found CBC podcasts about and written by indigenous people are always top notch in storytelling and this one is right up there.
  • wischah
    Buffy, you are a part of me!
    Back in the 60’s when I was around 13 or 14 years old, I frequently got Folk albums from my library. That’s how I discovered Buffy. She has been in my head and my heart ever since. She was a beautiful artist with a story to tell that drew in this troubled teen. I’m thrilled to discover this wonderful podcast that reintroduces me to an artist that touched me so deeply. Thank you.
  • MiracleBaby<3
    Great Podcast!
    Great Podcast! This captivating story of Buffy and her journey kept me wanting to know more about this brave and dynamic woman. I definitely recommend this podcast if you are a musician, artist, survivor of domestic abuse, and/or passionate about social justice issues.
  • andyroyaloak71
    World Treasure
    We appreciate your straightforward, dignified, circle-completing telling of Buffy’s story. As listeners from 1960s, we thank you all. First CBC pod—looking forward to more.
  • aaaasaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
    Wonderful
    Thank you for this thoughtful, important, and beautifully made podcast.
  • Muffy Tepperman
    Entertaining
    Thoroughly entertaining and not overly long. I’m sure Buffy has a zillion more stories.
  • SalishGirl76
    I love Buffy
    I love Buffy, and I am so interested in her past and how she developed. So, hearing about her childhood and her forays into the folks scene is the best! Very disappointed in the dry, boring lady who is telling the story. Yay for being a fellow indigenous gal in media, but there’s no personality here. Sorry to say, but our Buffy deserves the highest level of coverage. Sadly, she got a new recruit :-(
  • DaChowda
    Why am I just learning about Buffy?!?!?
    How is she not in a bunch of music hall’s of fame? Thank you for this beautiful podcast and for clueing me into a new (to me) genre of music, for adding more depth and color to my life’s kaleidoscope of sound. Please do more podcasts like these!
  • Lisianthis Elara
    Instant Fan and Deepest Gratitude
    My first introduction to Buffy was … honestly the Vampire Slayer (who after listening to this I am certain was named after Buffy SM) … the VS is why I clicked on this podcast, I love strong women. This had to be good. It is simply amazing. I love this podcast. I instantly fell in love with everything about Buffy. I am so grateful for her existence. Also, gratitude to Falen Johnson for putting this together so expertly. Amazing, highly recommended. ✨🌙
  • manthasam88
    Expertly delivered
    Buffy Sainte-Marie is the Frida Kahlo of musical expression. Her art and Indigeneity are inextricable. Falen Johnson brings Buffy Sainte-Marie to the surface for those who haven’t lived with her in their lives. And for those of us who already love Buffy, Falen reminds us why we do.
  • cheerfulearful
    Thank you for lifting up Buffy’s story
    Like so many, I’d never heard Buffy’s story yet I’ve experienced her influence. Loved getting to know her playful and joyous personality alongside her music and activism. Masterfully crafted series.
  • Rae Sun!
    TRUE TALENT
    Buffy is an icon who has contributed so much to music and to educate others who would only know history from the books available to us. Indigenous history, from both Buffy and Falen)involved and a part of living her own experience gives a more broad perspective. It’s important to see the balance. She maintains positivity while telling history as she knows it, which I appreciate. Thank you ALL for this podcast! Loved it!
  • RoseEReid
    Poignant
    Buddy - icon - should be a household name. Thank for sharing her story and the history.
  • Drlisah2002
    Buffy— a true role model for women
    Thanks so much for creating this podcast— so informative about this lady who means so much to me from Universal Soldier onward— she led me to become an advocate for native women’s rights as a mental health professional— well done!
  • DaniBahnsen
    Beautiful ❤️
    Thank you for sharing Buffy’s story and her amazing contributions to humanity. I am Assiniboine and brought up in a white world, never having even heard of Buffy St. Marie until only a few years ago. How I wish I’d found her sooner. This podcast was beautifully presented. Great job!
  • CCC Gurl
    WOW
    So we’ll done! Loved the narrator and Buffy’s voice & the way they told her story!
  • Sean_863
    Candid and beautiful
    This is a very well-researched and hosted podcast about an incredible singer, songwriter, and inspirational woman. Please give this a listen and then go through Buffy’s discography.
  • Justice!!!!
    Fantastic
    Wonderful reporting about an incredible musician/activist/icon.
  • Cousin Isaac
    Required Listening for music heads
    Every once in a while you learn about someone that was so influential or important it is hard to believe you hadn’t heard of them before. This is one of those opportunities for me and I’m guessing you too.
  • Kiradoula
    Buffy Sainte Marie is a family favorite.
    I was born in 1972 andBuffy Sainte Marie was a staple in the soundtrack of my home. I love listening to this podcast. Like a mini biography.
  • Dela Star
    Brilliant
    This is a brilliant deeply moving series on one of my favorite artists. However it’s an upsetting oversight/erasure to speak about Elvis Presley in such adoring terms without also mentioning his & his managers’ racist and culturally appropriative use of Black musicians’ talent, style, rhythm and music. It is also painful to speak about so casually Hawai’i as home for Buffy without acknowledging the violent colonization and illegal annexation of those islands and those people by the US government and the fight for sovereign rights still happening today.
  • MoTar777
    So many firsts
    Against all odds, Buffy achieved so many firsts. Her quite determination and incredible talent are such an inspiration. The podcast plays like a book you can’t stop reading. Can’t wait for episode 5!
  • zxxcb.
    Drumbeat
    I Thank You for revealing the Truth of an Indigenous artist that bridges all cultures, with her uniquely beautiful transformational voice, that of song, that of word, making sure we stand up and call out collectively, with one voice in gratitude for Buffy’s revelatory journey of her life, in her voice, what an incredible gift. Your Podcast is so well done, and I thank you for this Love project. Kp. Albq.,NM
  • FirstPersonNaturalist
    I’ve always wished more people these days new about Buffy!
    So glad someone thought to make this podcast. She’s had an incredible career and life and is a genuine inspiration. Thank you for producing this! The show is well done, holds interest the whole way through.
  • kayte e
    1970’s
    Thank you so much for this podcast on Buffy. I was in college in the 1970s in San Jose California when I first heard Buffy Sainte Marie I bought my first album vinyl of her music and I loved her Music so much I bought a dulcimer to try and sound like her but no one can sound like Buffy.‼️1970’s
  • RFM VT
    Awestruck by Buffy’s spirit & the storytelling.
    I’m hooked! Buffy’s story needs to be in history books everywhere! She represents the best of humanity despite the injustices she and her people face. And the unvarnished account of our country’s history is delivered in such a way the depths of it cascades in long, long after listening to an episode. This podcast really sticks with you. Thank you to the team who made this happen!
  • FairfieldGoos
    Tremendous
    A very important, comprehensive cultural biopic focused on a fascinating, talented, self-aware, strong woman. Thank you, Buffy Sainte Marie and to the makers of this podcast.
  • hilaryhandb
    Excellent
    This is such a well done pod cast. Thank you.
  • Joey Tranchina
    Buffy Sainte Marie had the talent to become anything. She chose to be who she is..
    I met Buffy On a bus to Tucson Arizona, in 1964 We ended up traveling together to a coffee house where she was playing with Pat Sky. In between their sets, I gave poetry readings & my friend, Gunner, MCd, Coming from the West Coast, we had never heard Buffys music. We could see that she was intelligent sensitive articulate and shy which left us completely unprepared for who she became when she stepped on a stage. Obviously, as with almost anyone who’s ever heard her we were knocked over but looking back sets that amazed me most was when at the end of the run in the coffee house, Buffy did a complete set of Broadway show tunes and everyone in the room knew Buffy Sainte Marie could have gone on to replace Ethel Merman on the Broadway stage. Gunner & I went on to live in Mexico; Buffy and Pat went onto other gigs but 58 years later I still know all the words to Buffy’s songs and can still hear her singing them in my head. They are great songs by a great singer made more memorable by the fact that Buffy cares about the people she sings about. Joey Tranchina,Sète,France
  • Laadyl
    Chills
    4 minutes in & I am floored. Thank you for sharing.
  • Rawa Akapana
    Synchronicity
    I became a BSM fan 50 years ago, when I was in college. Just two days ago, I thought about Buffy for the first time in decades, and went back and listened to Universal Soldier, Until It’s Time and all those other beautiful songs that so filled my heart then. And now, two days later, here she is on my radar. Thank you, Universe.
  • Stephen Key
    Excellent!
    This podcast is excellent! Great writing and sound design and production all around. I’m thrilled to hear Buffy’s stories in her voice. Thank you!
  • veryrevy
    Great!
    I’m a huge fan of Buffy’s. I’m so excited this podcast was made!!
  • Heather Sweetgrass
    Beautiful music story
    Beautiful truth telling about the life of an epic indigenous musician who had an amazing impact on “mainstream” culture. This is a must listen to learn about her story and your (hi/er)story.
  • rayknob stoll
    Love this show
    Listennnnnnn!!!!!
  • a*hz
    Can’t wait for the next episode!
    Wonderful podcast. Thank you for sharing her story. More people need to know about this incredible woman!!
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