Buffy Sainte-Marie has had enough.

Coming off a difficult summer that included a bout of COVID-19, the acclaimed singer-songwriterB次元官网网址檚 usually optimistic tone is undercut by a sense of frustration.

Over the past few months, on at least two instances, sheB次元官网网址檚 been among the many airline passengers left stranded by a Canadian airline. One time, she was stuck at an airport for three days as delays and flight cancellations dragged on.

B次元官网网址淭he airlines are broken,B次元官网网址� she says while sitting in a Toronto hotel.

B次元官网网址淲estJet abandoned me. Air Canada abandoned me. Badly.B次元官网网址�

Sainte-Marie says sheB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渘ot trying to cast blame,B次元官网网址� but as far as sheB次元官网网址檚 concerned thereB次元官网网址檚 no frequent flying in her future, which means far fewer concerts and appearances. She lives in Hawaii and the jet lag from flying to the mainland has become too much to bear, even without the prospects of being stuck in an airport.

B次元官网网址淚f I was 21, maybe I would, but IB次元官网网址檓 81 and I deserve better, and IB次元官网网址檓 going to give it to myself,B次元官网网址� she adds.

A tribute concert set for OttawaB次元官网网址檚 National Arts Centre on Friday and Sainte-Marie performance booked in Vancouver on Sunday are part of what she says is B次元官网网址減robably going to be my last tour.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not saying that IB次元官网网址檓 never going to perform again. ItB次元官网网址檚 not like: B次元官网网址楽heB次元官网网址檚 going to retire.B次元官网网址� IB次元官网网址檓 not in the business world. IB次元官网网址檝e retired many times without ever calling it retirement,B次元官网网址� she insists.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 just going to hang it up.B次元官网网址�

Knowing that context, itB次元官网网址檚 easy to see B次元官网网址淏uffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It OnB次元官网网址� as the final word on the acclaimed Cree artistB次元官网网址檚 legacy.

The career-spanning documentary, which made its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month, plays at various other Canadian film festivals throughout September before its streaming debut on Crave in October.

Using interviews with Sainte-Marie, as well as contemporaries Joni Mitchell, Alanis Obomsawin, Robbie Robertson and others, the feature-length film profiles an artist and activist who was decades ahead of her time.

Stories reflect on Sainte-MarieB次元官网网址檚 roots in QuB次元官网网址橝ppelle Valley, Sask. and her adoption by an American family from Massachusetts. When she was younger, she says people discouraged her from learning more about her Indigenous identity and pursuing a career in music, but eventually she fled to New YorkB次元官网网址檚 Greenwich Village to perform in coffee houses.

Sainte-Marie recalls how it felt to write and record anti-war anthem B次元官网网址淯niversal SoldierB次元官网网址� only to see it become a hit through 1960s Scottish singer Donovan. And she details the painful history tied to winning a best original song Oscar for B次元官网网址淯p Where We BelongB次元官网网址� which she co-wrote with her ex-husband Jack Nitzsche, whom she describes as abusive.

Lighter memories detail her cultural influence as a recurring guest on childrenB次元官网网址檚 program B次元官网网址淪esame Street,B次元官网网址� where she breastfed her child on national television, and her foray into digital art in the 1990s.

While many of these stories have been told before in other documentaries and interviews, B次元官网网址淐arry It OnB次元官网网址� steps back farthest to put Sainte-MarieB次元官网网址檚 perseverance into a broader social context.

Telling her story from a new vantage point was important, she says.

At first, she wasnB次元官网网址檛 convinced the world needed another Sainte-Marie documentary when Toronto production company White Pine Films approached her with a rough pitch. She recoiled at the thought of being the subject of a rockumentary filled with musicians singing her praises.

B次元官网网址淪ome documentaries are that old-style, boring thing and IB次元官网网址檓 not interested,B次元官网网址� she says.

B次元官网网址淚t just kind of sounded like scrapbooking.B次元官网网址�

As conversations with White Pine continued, Indigenous-led production house Eagle Vision got on board. They brought in Madison Thomas, a Winnipeg-based filmmaker who is Ojibwe-Saulteaux and Russian-Ukrainian, to help shape the idea.

Andrea Warner, author of Sainte-MarieB次元官网网址檚 2018 authorized biography, was also added to the group as a co-writer, which Sainte-Marie says created a B次元官网网址渞eal comfort zoneB次元官网网址� to discuss how the film would take shape. The three women broke off from the production companies and held regular meetings over Zoom in the midst of the pandemic.

Their finished documentary arrives as more attention is put on making space for Indigenous creators in the Canadian film scene. Sainte-Marie hopes those conversations will extend to Hollywood as well.

She points to a recent apology to Sacheen Littlefeather by organizers at the Academy Awards as a sign of positive change.

Littlefeather became a target of hate when she was booed at the 1973 Oscars for refusing the best actor award on behalf of Marlon Brando. In her speech, she criticized HollywoodB次元官网网址檚 portrayal of Indigenous people and called for more attention to the standoff at Wounded Knee.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently sent a letter of apology to Littlefeater and will host an event this weekend in her honour.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 so glad they did,B次元官网网址� says Sainte-Marie, who is recognized in the newly minted Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.

B次元官网网址淚n repairing their reputation theyB次元官网网址檙e doing something that needed to be done for a long time,B次元官网网址� she added.

B次元官网网址淪o letB次元官网网址檚 applaud that and not carry a grudge.B次元官网网址�

Sainte-Marie says she hopes this is a sign of further efforts the Academy may take for Indigenous representation, particularly among its voting members.

Holding those optimistic hopes is what keeps her moving forward, she adds.

B次元官网网址淚 seek out joy. I seek out good friends,B次元官网网址� she says.

B次元官网网址淎nd I have enough good food in my diet to survive just about any chocolate cupcake that comes along.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址擠avid Friend, The Canadian Press