Métis “dance as good as any body”

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 long-time New York Evening Post editor William Cullen Bryant recorded his observations from a visit to Sault Ste. Marie in 1846:

"In a further conversation with the half-breed, he spoke of the Sault as a delightful abode, and expatiated on the pleasures of the place. ‘It is the greatest place in the world for fun … we dance all winter; our women are all good dancers; our little girls can dance single and double jigs as good as any body in the States. That little girl there … will dance as good as any body.’"

Through winter nights filled with music and movement, dance strengthened bonds and carried knowledge from one generation to the next. That same spirit continues today, with Métis dances remaining central to community celebrations, family gatherings, and cultural events in Sault Ste. Marie and across the Métis Homeland.

See Our Sources

• Letters of a Traveller; Or, Notes of Things Seen in Europe and America By William Cullen Bryant. 1850.

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