From June 8-10, 2018, the Mitchif Heritage Keepers held a Métis Music and Art Festival in Choteau, Montana. With a population of about 1700, this small town—located 32 kilometers east of the Rocky Mountains—marks a stopping place near Flathead National Forest and Glacier National Park. Métis people moved into the area beginning in the 1860s, following conflicts with settlers and the Canadian and American governments, as well as the rapid decline of bison herds farther east.
Elder Fred "Jiggs" Charette told me that the festival was started to provide a space for people to get together and share music. But it has turned into much more. It is now a space to come together as kin and celebrate all aspects of Métis history and culture, and to pass Métis knowledge and ways of life on to the next generation.
Below are a few photos from my travels to the Festival, along with some brief comments detailing their significance.
View of the landscape, just a few minutes northeast of Choteau
Community Centre (the Pavilion) where the annual Métis Music and Art Festival is held
Sisters Kathy and Julie Moran (Turtle Mountain Métis) performing classic country hits and fiddle tunes
Downtown Choteau
Rabbit rubaboo, cooked by Reno Charette
One of the many jam sessions held over the weekend
Métis flag flying outside of the community centre during the Festival
Blackfeet/Métis ethnobotanist Dr. Rosalyn La Pier discussing Métis in Montana as well as the use of local plants for food and medicine
Students from Bynum School, led by prominent folklorist Nicholas Vrooman, performing a song they wrote in honour of Chippewa Cree Mitchif people
One of the many items showcased by Métis Elder Al Wiseman. This item was used by his grandmother to crush chokecherries (seeds and all)
Métis cemetery about a twenty minute drive northwest of Choteau. Elder Wiseman (cemetery caretaker) took a group of attendees to the cemetery on the final day of the Festival
The first burial took place in 1890
Stones and markers of various types indicate the graves. Many were made long after the burial (including this one, which was made by Elder Wiseman)
Wild strawberries are scattered throughout the graveyard
View from the cemetery
That's it for now! Be sure to mark your calendars for next year's event, scheduled for the weekend of June 14, 2019.