Western Standard - June 03, 2022


Fake indigenous professor resigns from the University of Saskatchewan


Episode Stats

Length

2 minutes

Words per Minute

153.18964

Word Count

353

Sentence Count

21


Summary

Dr. Carrie Barassa resigned from the University of Saskatchewan Wednesday over questions about her claims she's Indigenous. She was a professor of community health and epidemiology at the College of Medicine in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Professor Carrie Barassa resigned from the University of Saskatchewan Wednesday over
00:00:04.320 questions about her claims she's Indigenous. Barassa claimed to be Mady, Anishabi, and Tingit,
00:00:10.700 but her ancestry came into question by the CBC investigation in the fall of 2021.
00:00:16.680 The University of Saskatchewan reviewed the information from CBC and media interviews
00:00:21.180 given by Barassa about her Indigenous ancestry. The University of Saskatchewan has carefully
00:00:26.660 reviewed the information in interviews and responses from Dr. Carrie Barassa to recent
00:00:32.260 articles challenging her Indigenous identity, said the University of Saskatchewan press release.
00:00:37.740 The University has serious concerns with the additional information revealed in Barassa's
00:00:41.600 responses to the media with the harm that this information may be causing Indigenous individuals
00:00:46.940 and communities. An investigation will be proceeding into the statements and information shared by
00:00:53.040 Dr. Barassa. Barassa is on forced vacation while investigating her ancestry. The University of
00:00:59.580 Saskatchewan has placed Dr. Barassa on leave and she is relieved of all her duties as professor in the
00:01:04.400 University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology.
00:01:10.280 Dr. Barassa will not return to any faculty duties during this investigation, said the University of
00:01:16.020 Saskatchewan media release. Barassa received millions of dollars of research grants for Indigenous
00:01:20.700 health and was considered a leader in the field. The Institute of Indigenous Peoples Health removed
00:01:26.180 Barassa from her position as scientific director, which is part of the Canadian Institutes of Health
00:01:31.320 Research. The College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan Dean Preston Smith released a statement
00:01:37.820 Wednesday about Barassa's resignation and shifts the university's focus to prevent the same
00:01:42.980 situation from happening again. Given Dr. Barassa is no longer with the university,
00:01:47.700 an investigation being conducted by Jean Tillet will now focus on recommendations for improvements
00:01:54.020 to the relevant University of Saskatchewan policies and processes, said Smith. Tillet's recommendations
00:02:00.340 will be provided to the University of Saskatchewan in the near future and these recommendations will be
00:02:05.620 shared publicly. Barassa wrote numerous books and scholarly articles on Indigenous health and was a
00:02:12.100 professor of community health and epidemiology. I'm Chris Roelkorn reporting for the Western Standard.