Shania Twain has been making headlines around the world, but a recent story published in her hometown paper, the Daily Press in Timmins, is giving the country singer some unwelcome media attention.
A front-page story in the April 4 issue says Twain has been untruthful about her background. Twain, born Eileen Regina Edwards, has said that Jerry Twain, an Ojibway Indian, was her father. According to the Daily Press, Jerry Twain was her stepfather; her biological father, Clarence Edwards, is of French and Irish descent. Shania Twain's mother also was of Irish descent.Inquiries were made after the Daily Press was tipped off by a phone call. The caller, who did not want to be identified, questioned the validity of the entertainer's claim to have native blood and led reporters to Twain's biological grandmother, Regina Nutbrown.
Nutbrown said she is not sure who contacted the Daily Press, but she is convinced the caller is not a family member. "It surprised me. I guess somebody in town got angry seeing Eileen on television pretending we don't exist," she said from her home in the nearby town of Chapleau.
Twain was not available for comment and issued a statement through her publicist. In the statement, Twain admits that her biological father is Edwards and explains that her parents separated when she was 2 years old. The statement goes on to say that after her mother married Jerry Twain, he legally adopted her and her sister.
The statement ends by quoting Twain as saying, "I don't know how much Indian blood I actually have in me, but as the adopted daughter of my father Jerry, I became legally registered as 50 percent North American Indian. Being raised by a full-blooded Indian and being a part of his family and their culture from such a young age is all I've ever known. That heritage is in my heart and my soul, and I'm proud of it."
Since the release of her Grammy-winning album, "The Woman in Me," Twain has become the biggest-selling female vocalist in country music history. The 1995 album has sold 6 million copies.
Shain has received awards from the Native community, such as the First Americans in the Arts Award she received in February, and has performed at Native events such as last year's National Aboriginal Achievement Awards held in Vancouver, British Columbia.