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Buffy Sainte-Marie on love songs, activism and being recognized for her humanitarian work

Legendary Canadian artist Buffy Sainte-Marie talks about receiving the 2017 Allan Waters Humanitarian Award at this year's Junos.
Buffy Sainte-Marie speaking live with Tom Power at the Bronson Centre Theatre in Ottawa, Ont. (Michel Aspirot/CBC)

Buffy Sainte-Marie saw Arcade Fire receive the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award at last year's Juno Awards and, she says, "they'd be a hard act to follow." 

But, of course, Sainte-Marie's decades of activism deserves an award of its own. This year, Sainte-Marie will take home that same title and, at our live show at the Bronson Centre Theatre, she tells Tom Power: "I'm very grateful that anybody has taken the time to notice the things that have been meaningful to me aside from music, and within music." 

Listen as Sainte-Marie discusses her years of writing love songs alongside her powerful protest songs, why she doesn't have a career down in the U.S. and her latest collaboration with Tanya Tagaq.