Buffy Sainte-Marie is retiring from live performance. The Canadian-American singer-songwriter announced the cancellation of all slated performances “in the foreseeable future” today, citing travel-induced health concerns and performance-inhibiting physical challenges as factors in her decision. 

“I have made the difficult decision to pull out of all scheduled performances in the foreseeable future,” Sainte-Marie, who is 82, shared in a statement. “Arthritic hands and a recent shoulder injury have made it no longer possible to perform to my standards. Sincere regrets to all my fans and family, my band and the support teams that make it all possible.”

Sainte-Marie suggested a potential retirement in a September 2022 interview with The Canadian Press, where she said that fall shows in Vancouver and Ottawa would be part of what is “probably going to be my last tour.” 

“I’m not saying that I’m never going to perform again. It’s not like: ‘She’s going to retire.’ I’m not in the business world. I’ve retired many times without ever calling it retirement,“ Sainte-Marie said at the time. “I’m just going to hang it up.”

The first Indigenous woman to win both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award, Sainte-Marie also won a Polaris Music Prize in 2015 for her album Power in the Blood. Read about her 1969 album Illuminations in “The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s.”