Saint Marie, Buffy (1941– )

Canadian singer and songwriter. Her songwriting talents came to the fore during the folk revival of the 1960s, when she became known as a writer of protest and love songs. Her song ‘The Universal Soldier’ became one of the major anthems of the 1960s peace movement, but she concentrated on campaigning for the rights of American Indians and the environment. In 1974, she wrote the theme song for Soldier Blue, a powerful film depicting the brutal mistreatment of American Indians during the Indian–Cavalry wars. Her song ‘Up Where We Belong’ won an Academy Award in 1982 for the film An Officer and a Gentleman.

Born on a Cree Indian reservation in Canada, Saint Marie was orphaned and then adopted in the USA. She has written numerous songs, scored movies, written essays, worked in computer-generated art, and has established a foundation to fund native studies.