Source: Global Times New Media
According to the British "Guardian" reported on the 2nd, a Canadian official and scholar who specializes in the health of indigenous people has been administratively taken from her university after an investigation questioned her claimed aboriginal ancestry.
Screenshot of the report
Carrie Bourassa, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, claims to have Aboriginal ancestry from Métis, Anishinaabe and Tlingit. In 2019, she appeared at a TED talk event wearing a blue embroidered shawl and holding a feather, and she even called her indigenous name "Morning Star Bear."
However, a survey by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) noted that Braza was entirely of European descent.
Braza recently resigned as director of Aboriginal Health Sciences at the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR). Previously, the scientific institute described Braza as "a Méti woman, a highly respected indigenous researcher" and praised her as "the selfless leader and tireless defender of all indigenous peoples in this country.".
Canada's Aboriginal Infographic (Source: People's Vision)
Some people who worked with Braza were skeptical of her claims about her pedigree, and some checked her genetic genealogy records, and her ancestors were reported to be of Russian, Pole and Czech descent.
In an email sent to CBC, Braza also said that she was adopted by a friend of her grandfather in the name of the Métis and later by other ethnic groups. She accused the CBC of launching a "smear campaign" against her, adding that she was "shocked and frustrated by the recent attacks on my identity."
Later, Braza issued a statement saying that her identity was Méti and that the elders who raised her did not rely on "blood" to judge her indigenous status.
The Guardian notes that the plight of Indigenous Canadians has been of great concern in recent months, as unmarked cemeteries have been found in Canadian boarding schools, proving that the country has tried to eradicate aboriginal culture and language.
Janet Smylie, a Méti traditional health scholar at the University of Toronto, said: "It's a little disgusting that there is a fake person speaking on behalf of Méti and Aboriginal people, what does it really mean to be Medy in this country... This is very disturbing and worrying. ”