Buffy Sainte-Marie has had enough.

Coming off a difficult summer that included a bout of COVID-19, the acclaimed singer-songwriter鈥檚 usually optimistic tone is undercut by a sense of frustration.

Over the past few months, on at least two instances, she鈥檚 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.

鈥淭he airlines are broken,鈥� she says while sitting in a Toronto hotel.

鈥淲estJet abandoned me. Air Canada abandoned me. Badly.鈥�

Sainte-Marie says she鈥檚 鈥渘ot trying to cast blame,鈥� but as far as she鈥檚 concerned there鈥檚 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.

鈥淚f I was 21, maybe I would, but I鈥檓 81 and I deserve better, and I鈥檓 going to give it to myself,鈥� she adds.

A tribute concert set for Ottawa鈥檚 National Arts Centre on Friday and Sainte-Marie performance booked in Vancouver on Sunday are part of what she says is 鈥減robably going to be my last tour.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 not saying that I鈥檓 never going to perform again. It鈥檚 not like: 鈥楽he鈥檚 going to retire.鈥� I鈥檓 not in the business world. I鈥檝e retired many times without ever calling it retirement,鈥� she insists.

鈥淚鈥檓 just going to hang it up.鈥�

Knowing that context, it鈥檚 easy to see 鈥淏uffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On鈥� as the final word on the acclaimed Cree artist鈥檚 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-Marie鈥檚 roots in Qu鈥橝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 York鈥檚 Greenwich Village to perform in coffee houses.

Sainte-Marie recalls how it felt to write and record anti-war anthem 鈥淯niversal Soldier鈥� 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 鈥淯p Where We Belong鈥� 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 children鈥檚 program 鈥淪esame Street,鈥� 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, 鈥淐arry It On鈥� steps back farthest to put Sainte-Marie鈥檚 perseverance into a broader social context.

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

At first, she wasn鈥檛 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.

鈥淪ome documentaries are that old-style, boring thing and I鈥檓 not interested,鈥� she says.

鈥淚t just kind of sounded like scrapbooking.鈥�

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-Marie鈥檚 2018 authorized biography, was also added to the group as a co-writer, which Sainte-Marie says created a 鈥渞eal comfort zone鈥� 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 Hollywood鈥檚 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.

鈥淚鈥檓 so glad they did,鈥� says Sainte-Marie, who is recognized in the newly minted Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.

鈥淚n repairing their reputation they鈥檙e doing something that needed to be done for a long time,鈥� she added.

鈥淪o let鈥檚 applaud that and not carry a grudge.鈥�

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.

鈥淚 seek out joy. I seek out good friends,鈥� she says.

鈥淎nd I have enough good food in my diet to survive just about any chocolate cupcake that comes along.鈥�

鈥擠avid Friend, The Canadian Press