The heritage of a community health and epidemiology professor at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) is being questioned by some of her colleagues.
Dr. Carrie Bourassa, who is also the scientific director at the Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR), identifies as a woman of Métis ancestry.
A CBC investigation discovered Bourassa’s ancestry leads back to her great-grandparents who were Czech-speaking Russians that settled in Punnichy, Sask., in 1911.
That investigation found no evidence that Bourassa has Métis heritage.
In response to the investigation, Bourassa released a statement which said she was adopted by Clifford Larocque, a Métis leader in Saskatchewan, after her grandfather passed away.
“Our community knows who I am and embraces me. In our Métis ways, in the event of a loss, community members would adopt the individual who had no family and they would then automatically be seen as family. We see this as custom adoption. Those adoptions were more meaningful and have stronger bonds than colonial adoptions,” read the statement which was posted to the Morning Star Lodge research lab’s website.
While she noted that, “blood quantums are not our way,” she is working with a Métis genealogist to investigate her lineage.
Global News reached out to Bourassa for an interview, but she said she is declining media requests at this time.
On Nov. 1, the CIHR released a statement which said Bourassa would be stepping away from her duties with the organization.
She was the scientific director of CIHR Institute of Indigenous’ Peoples’ Health.
The statement from the CIHR president added she will be on an indefinite leave without pay immediately.
“Maintaining the trust and confidence of Indigenous communities is essential to the work of CIHR. I will communicate a plan for the ongoing leadership of the institute in the coming days,” Michael Strong said.
Last week, Métis Nation–Saskatchewan (MN-S) released a statement about false or insufficient claims to Indigenous ancestry.
While it did not mention Bourassa’s case directly, it said false information can lead to individuals gaining financially or in their careers specifically when it comes to programs aimed at helping Indigenous people.
“These kinds of ameliorative opportunities and programs are an important part of addressing the historical disenfranchisement and silencing of Indigenous peoples and their voices, including the Métis,” the MN-S statement said.
Bourassa acknowledges that she isn’t identified as Métis based on MN-S standards, but that she is part of other local Métis organizations which aren’t overseen by MN-S.
“In Saskatchewan, determining who is a Métis citizen is the sole determination of the Métis Nation–Saskatchewan and no one else,” MN-S President Glen McCallum said.
“Being Indigenous cannot be reduced to a matter of individual choice or self-identification alone. It is about shared culture, heritage, and history. By its very nature, this is a collective experience and should not be left to individuals divorced from the Indigenous Nations to which they claim ancestral ties and shared experience,” the statement read.
MN-S noted it asked all Saskatchewan post-secondary institutions to change their definition of Métis to match the one laid out by the organization when it came to recognition for employment, scholarships and other programs.
It said none has adopted its definition, but it is currently working with USask on this file.
Last week, the university released a statement on the CBC investigation which stated it respects the sovereignty and self-determination of Indigenous peoples and that it works with community partners when hiring specifically for people with Indigenous ancestry.
“Professor Bourassa was not hired by the university because of her Indigenous status and Indigenous ancestry was not a requirement of the role. The quality of professor Bourassa’s scholarly work speaks for itself and has greatly benefitted the health of communities across Canada,” said USask provost and vice-president of academic Airini.