Dance, specifically jigs, has long been a vital part of Métis community life, connecting families and generations through a shared spirit of love and celebration. Far more than entertainment, dance created spaces where elders, adults, and children gathered, sharing rhythm, movement, and joy throughout the long winter months.  These celebrated social gatherings were frequently documented by Métis community members and non-Métis visitors alike. For example, American poet and lo

For Métis communities across the historic North-West, music has always been a vibrant, continuous thread woven through daily life, setting the tone for both family gatherings and large community celebrations.  One such event took place on New Year’s Day in 1859 at Moose Factory. A festive celebration of music and dance took an unexpected turn when a fight broke out among the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Métis or “Halfbreed” and Norwegian employees. The story of the Moose Factory Fi

Métis oral histories contain many stories of New Year’s celebrations across the Métis Homeland, Sault Ste. Marie is no exception! They tell of Métis going from house to house for cakes and pies, with the sounds of fireworks, gunshots, church bells, and fiddle music ringing in the air, all accompanied by dancing.  Métis were so fond of this time of year that they often shared stories with non-Métis authors interested in their community’s history. In the 1920s, for example, Jam

DOWNLOAD THE DIGITAL COLOURING PAGE TO PRINT AT HOME A long time ago, Métis families celebrated New Year’s in the most fun and lively way! After a quiet Christmas, New Year’s was all about visiting neighbours, eating cakes and pies, dancing to fiddle music, and lighting up the night with fireworks! Everyone joined in—ringing church bells, sharing laughs, and enjoying good food. It was the perfect way to brighten the coldest months of winter and bring the whole community toge

Whether through their work as guides, the sharing of harvests, or advocacy for their rights, the many customs of Métis life in northern Ontario have been observed and recorded across generations.  Again and again, observers have remarked on Métis people who celebrated their community and culture openly, without shame, and with an unmistakable sense of pride. Métis gatherings were social occasions and the embodiment of belonging. One such moment was recorded by a visitor who a

George Dusome's brief life is best remembered not just for his sacrifice, but for the joy, warmth, and sense of togetherness that once shaped it and continue to define his memory. Family gatherings were central to the Métis household in which George grew up in Penetanguishene, where time spent together offered comfort, strength, and a sense of belonging. George’s niece, Leona Paul, recalled the care George carried for his family.  George voluntarily enlisted in the First Worl