The troupe is called the "Olivine Bousquet (Tiedema) Métis Dancers" in honour of our very special Elder
who has done so much to start and sustain the Oshawa and Durham Region Métis Council.

The Olivine Bousquet Métis Dancers started in April 2008, following a four-day workshop at Camp
Samac, Oshawa, with invited Canadian award-winning Métis jigger, Yvonne Chartrand from British
Columbia.

We performed for the first time at our own 2nd Annual Métis Heritage Celebration, in Oshawa, in June
2008

Since the inception, the troupe has traveled around Ontario, Quebec and most recently Saskatchewan, at
the Back to Batoche Métis Festival.

The troupe currently consists of the following dancers:
Auriele D.
Brittney W.
Chontele E.
Ginny G.

Today’s performers include Ginny and Auriele.

Ginny has learned from many talented Métis dancers, including Yvonne Chartrand, Maddy McCallum,
Bev Lambert and Bruce Dumont. In 2009, she began performing with Yvonne Chartrand's Louis Riel
Métis Dancers. She now lives and works in Toronto and facilitates jigging workshops for schools,
communities and organizations. She is a proud citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario and is involved in
various national and provincial Métis youth initiatives.

Auriele started jigging in 2009. She is currently a third year university student studying Theatre. The
Métis heritage is very unique, rich in culture and fun. She feels very privileged to be able to share the
culture with others and create awareness about the Métis people and their contribution in Canadian
history.

The Olivine Bousquet Métis Dancers have instilled/raised the level of Métis pride in themselves and in
all the Métis who have seen them perform. They are terrific ambassadors of the Métis Nation to everyone
they meet.

Background on Métis and Musical Tradition

The Métis are a unique people as they are a mixture of European (for the most part either
Scottish or French fur traders) and First Nations ancestry. Therefore, many of our traditions
come from those three influences. For instance, the language of the Métis is called Michif, and
this language is a combination of mostly the First Nations Cree language and French. Like
our language, our traditional Métis style fiddling and dancing is also highly influenced by a
mixture of the Scottish, French, and first nation’s music and dance. Métis fiddle music and dance
originally came from the Scottish and French fur traders, who made voyages across Canada,
trading with many first nations communities. Some of the many things they traded were fiddles,
fiddle tunes, and dances. However, Métis and first nation style fiddling and dancing are much
different than the Scottish and French style. This is mainly because of the aboriginals influence
on the music and dance.