We are Still Dancing: Métis Women’s Voices on Dance as a Restorative Praxis for Wellbeing

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to center dance at the heart of Métis identity expressions, where reconnecting with who we are through dance is intimately grounded within an Indigenous understanding of restoring wellbeing. Exploring the experiences of four prominent Métis women allowed a space to celebrate the voice of dancers as they make sense of what it means to practice Métis dance within their lives. This research further focuses on the experiences of Métis dance as an understanding of Indigenous wellbeing. The lived experiences were collected and reviewed within an Indigenous research framework grounded in the Cree and Métis values of Mino-pimatisiwin (good life) and Wahkotowin (kinship) (Hart, 1999; Kelsey, 2008). Both concepts deeply inform the processes related to our reciprocal relationship to all things, living and non-living and further place emphasis on our shared responsibility to honour, respect and acknowledge Indigenous knowledge and its value to our communities. There were three findings that emerged from this study: Understanding Métis dance (1) as a restorative and relational praxis of self-knowing; 2) as intergenerational knowledge transfer; 3) as a site for growing cultural awareness and self esteem. The voices of the women celebrate Métis peoplehood through the restorative practice of dance and in doing so allow us to un-settle and re-center the notion of Métis identity and dispel the question of “authenticity” (Lawrence, 2003). These are our own personal stories to tell, and only we can rewrite them in a way that is beneficial and meaningful to us.