Buffy Sainte-Marie: Musician, Indigenous Icon, and Social Activist

Buffy Sainte-Marie is someone who is likely known to those growing up in the Seventies because of her connection to other musicians such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. As Sainte-Marie is also very active in indigenous issues such as education, she is well-known by activists in many fields. Young people, however, may not be familiar with this inspiring Canadian figure. The “Remarkable Lives Revealed” series uses a wide range of criteria in deciding what constitutes being exceptional people, and by several measures Buffy Sainte-Marie fits into this category.

This biography briefly covers the history of both Buffy Sainte-Marie and the times in which she lives. As is advisable for a book for young children, the information is presented in small pieces with each page having a picture (most with a caption), a main area of text and one or two sidebars giving related facts. Many pages also have a direct quote from Buffy or questions intended to encourage further research. There are pictures of all stages of her more than 50-year career, highlighting her personal style. In total, there is enough here to get a good start on who Buffy is and what she has done.

Assuming that young people will use this book to help with a homework assignment, the list of books and websites for more information will be of interest to the reader. The book sources include a variety of topics about either Buffy or related history topics. Two of the websites are directly related to Buffy, her official site and that of the education fund that she founded. The other two are for the Canadian Encyclopedia, a good source for both the Cree peoples and for Aboriginal music. There are also five questions to act as writing prompts, a glossary and a brief index.

Buffy Sainte-Marie: Musician, Indigenous Icon, and Social Activist is an interesting introduction to a fascinating woman who has had a long and productive career, as a singer, humanitarian, educator and activist.