Fiddling and jigging: 2 inseparable Indigenous traditions that run in families – CBC

Jun 18, 2025

‘You’ve got to learn to dance to be a good fiddle player,’ says John Arcand

When Brianna Lizotte was growing up, she would watch home movies recorded by her grandfather of 1970s kitchen parties. In them, she’d see family members playing the fiddle and guitar and dancing to the music.

“There was a huge era of kitchen parties and music in our family for lots and lots of generations,” said Lizotte.

Lizotte is Métis and grew up in Sylvan Lake, Alta., about 140 kilometres south of Edmonton. But the last fiddle player in her family died when she was about 10, and then there was a drift.

“That was like a huge culture shock, I’d say, to not have any music anymore,” said Lizotte.

Read More: https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/fiddling-jigging-music-resonate-1.7557182