The Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at Northern Michigan University will present a workshop, jam session and concert related to the Métis fiddling tradition Nov. 17-18, featuring Jamie Fox of the Aaniih and Nakoda tribes of Montana. The Métis are members of ethnic groups native to Canada and parts of the United States, who trace their descent to both Indigenous North Americans and European settlers.
Fox grew up on the Fort Belknap Reservation of Northern Montana, where she was immersed in a lively fiddle and dance tradition. Accompanied by her father on guitar, she will perform selections from the tunes played there, derived from a mixture of Celtic, French and Native American cultures, and some other Métis tunes that are played throughout Native country.
Fox's Métis fiddle workshop will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, at The Fold, 1015 N. Third St. #9 in Marquette. A folk jam session will be held at 7:30 p.m. at The Fold. Both events are free and open to the public. Donations are welcome.
A concert by Fox and her father, Jim Fox, will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18, at the Whitman Hall Commons at NMU. Tickets will be sold at the door. The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for students.
The events are co-sponsored by the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center and the Hiawatha Music Co-op, which both strive to celebrate and preserve the folk music traditions of the region. They are being held in conjunction with the Beaumier Center's current exhibition, “The Seventh Fire: A Decolonizing Experience,” in its Gries Hall gallery.
For more information, please contact the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at 906-227-3212 or email heritage@nmu.edu.