Dance is a powerful expression of culture and there was a time in Canada when it was illegal for Indigenous People to perform traditional dances. Article content

An 1895 amendment to the Indian Act prohibited “any Indian festival, dance or other ceremony” — a ban that wasn’t lifted until 1951. This applied to all Indigenous dances, but did not include the Métis jig, because Métis People were not recognized as Indigenous Peoples until the 1982 Constitution Act. Article content

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Perhaps that is why some First Nations groups, especially those living near Métis groups took up square dancing and jigging — incorporating their own unique footwork, movements and costumes into this form of dance.

After attending and watching a square dance jamboree in 1984,

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