University of Saskatchewan supports professor who falsely claimed to be Indigenous

The University of Saskatchewan is pledging its support behind a professor who claimed to be Indigenous when she was not.

Carrie Bourassa serves as the Scientific Director of the Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health alongside her role at the University of Saskatchewan. She claimed to be Métis, Anishnaabe and Tlingit.

Despite this, a CBC investigation discovered that there was no evidence of Bourassa's Indigenous ancestry.

After being presented with this investigation, Bourassa changed her story, saying that she was adopted by a Métis person during her early 20s. This, quite obviously, isn't a particularly robust claim.

Bourassa later spoke to a local Saskatoon-based newspaper, where she continued to state that she was Indigenous but offered no further evidence or documentation.

Curiously enough, the University of Saskatchewan is publicly supporting Bourassa.

The university wrote in a statement that "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 benefited the health of communities across Canada," they added.

Bourassa has even delivered a TED Talk in Saskatoon where she once again claimed to be Indigenous and detailed her experience with racism.