Sunday Diva / Three From The Hip: Buffy Sainte-Marie

Sunday Diva / Three From The Hip: 

Buffy Sainte-Marie

In my own, personal, big gay church, there is a wing dedicated to Those of the Heart. These are the singers, songwriters and muses who have spent a lifetime capturing various aspects of the human condition. Frequently, due to the whims of the music industry and the political climate, their lives were not always their own... but they persevered... ultimately remaining true to their roles as seers of the heart. One such warrior?

Buffy Sainte-Marie

She's a spirit and a light. 

Born to see the world in all its splendor, as it truly could be.

And she shares that vision in all that she creates.

She's a true artist. 

Joyful and living from the heart.

She has sung of justice and love. Peace and harmony. Nature and nurture.

And paid a price for it. 

Painted by the government as someone who needed to be suppressed. Marginalized. Silenced. Not unlike what they did with the Native American population as a whole.

But those gifted with such celestial strength?

Those in touch with the sky, the water and the earth?

They can never be bound by the limitations human kind try to place upon them. 

Her journey and story would be told. Her truth shared. 

And to arrive on the other side, with such grace, humor and generosity?

Well... when it comes to Buffy Sainte-Marie? Why would we expect anything less?

The gospel according to her?

Well, here are three from the hip, dropping from her lips.

The topic: Being Native American

"I feel sorry for people of good heart who have never had a chance to learn the realities of Native American everything - not just our history but the sweetness and the beauty and the reasons why were so close to Mother Earth. There is so much joy in native culture but so much poverty. It's very disturbing. Instead of kids just hearing about beads and baskets and fringe, and about what 'was' and 'were,' we present Native American culture as a living contemporary culture."

“People sometimes ask me, because of the blacklisting, 'Do you hate the government? Don't you hate white people?' No, it's greed that's the problem. What can government do? They can listen to their own people. But I'll tell you what citizens can do, when we elect one of these people - whether we think it's a good guy or a bozo - you got to stay on the case. You don't vote and go home and give them the keys to the car, he'll drive you right off a cliff. You have to help people to stay honest.”

"I put all my time into Indian rights, and I think this is something I know something about, and I think that my time is best spent insofar as my political views are concerned. It never occurred to me that I was important enough to have some politician go out of his way to silence me. I only found out about it in the '80s by accident - a broadcaster announced they received letters of commendation from the White House for having suppressed my music. My career was so highly impacted in the U.S. it will never recover."

Universal Soldier - Buffy Sainte-Marie

I'm Gonna Be A Country Girl Again - Buffy Sainte-Marie

The Big Ones Get Away - Buffy Sainte-Marie

And one more parting shot...

"When somebody says, 'Oh, Buffy, you're such a warrior for peace', I stop them and say, 'No, I'm not really a warrior for peace. What I promote is alternative conflict resolution'. I think that most Americans feel that the Indians lost because of fair fights and superior odds and superior weaponry. That's because that's the only side of the story that's been told."

I really urge you to listen to The Big Ones Get Away 

- especially in light of recent events. 

It made me cry. 

A special thanks and shout out to Jimmy.