Dr. Monique Giroux publishes first book on Métis music

Faculty of Fine Arts Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Métis Music, Dr. Monique Giroux, has published a significant new book on Métis music and music-making through McGill University Press, and is the first monograph of its kind to highlight music-making practices in Métis contexts.

Stemming from Giroux's work as a PhD student, lived experiences and archival research, this exciting publication highlights Giroux's expertise and experience as an ethnomusicologist, fiddler and dancer.

Considering Métis/settler relations through music

Métis Music: Stories of Recognition and Resurgence considers Métis/settler relations through music, engaging with critical questions around what makes music Métis and who gets to decide.

This is Giroux's first book, underscoring the importance and timeliness of the research and its focus.

"Publishing a book with this focus makes a statement about Métis music as a valuable and important site of knowledge for all Canadians and an important site for scholarship and community-centred engagement," Giroux says.

"My main argument is that the stories we (both non-Métis and Métis people) tell about Métis music matter; and by that I mean that the way we talk about, write about, and think about Métis music matters, as does the way that we position it vis-à-vis other musics in Canada and beyond. Métis music, importantly, isn’t just an object: it is a way of thinking and a way of being."

Métis identity and the politics of recognition

The history of Métis music-making, from the Red River Resistance to the present, reflects complex dynamics of (non)-recognition and erasure. Giroux adds that while the book has a clear focus on music, it also touches upon other timely issues around Métis identity.

"It addresses issues of erasure that Métis people continue to experience—including right here in Lethbridge—while showing that not all forms of recognition do the kind of work that Métis communities deserve and to which they are entitled as an Indigenous People," Giroux says. "At the same time, the book shows how Métis peoples have persisted and maintained their identity, often through music, in the face of a long history of dispossession."

In her book, Giroux argues that Métis music reflects broader social relationships, in particular the politics of recognition. The book charts a history of reframings to identify a problematic, yet changing, relationship where settlers define the boundaries of acceptance to control Métis identity and culture.

Through her research, Giroux highlights how Métis have resisted settler erasure through music and community, such as fiddling and gatherings at Métis-run events, where people tell stories and draw on music to rebuild relationships.

Research on Métis music and music-making

Over the years, Giroux says she's attended dozens of Métis music- and dance-centred events—everything from small jam sessions to large-scale events that draw thousands of attendees.

"As a fiddler and dancer, I was often able to participate in various ways, which gave me insights into the practices and relationships embedded in the events. Additionally, I interviewed musicians, event organizers and audience members over the years, many of whom are named in the book. I am grateful for the knowledge that they shared with me!" Giroux says.

In addition to her lived experience, Giroux adds that the book is also based on extensive archival research.

"Specifically, I tracked how discourse around Métis music has shifted over the past century and a half. I was quite fortunate when I began my PhD research because so many archival sources had been digitized, allowing me to review hundreds of references to Métis music and dance from the mid-1800s onward, something that would have been much more difficult just a decade or two earlier."

Giroux says the process of researching and writing the book become more collaborative as time went on, something that is relatively new in the field of ethnomusicology but is increasingly valued in the discipline.

"More recently, I’ve built collaborative relationships that have greatly informed my thinking and writing. Here in particular, I want to acknowledge Dr. Suzanne Steele. I worked with her very closely when she held a postdoctoral position at ULethbridge, and the final chapter of my book reflects this collaboration. She furthermore read an earlier draft of the book and advised me on issues of cultural nuance. I also want to acknowledge Jonas Weselake-George and Troy Bannerman who worked with me as RAs on other projects, but whose deep knowledge of the Métis context shaped my thinking and approach in Métis Music. Similarly, my recent collaborative work with Dr. Michelle Porter on another project encouraged me to embrace fine arts-based approaches to research dissemination—shaping my final chapters. I was also fortunate to have MA student Angela Brooks do some editing for me as I was preparing the book for the press."

In addition to working with other researchers, Giroux adds that her family network was crucial in achieving her research accomplishments.

"Even those writers and artists who describe themselves as “lone wolves” in fact have numerous people supporting their work, though this too often goes unacknowledged. There are certainly people who did this “behind the scenes” work for me, most significantly my partner, Mike, who attended many Métis cultural events alongside me, providing me with a sounding board for my ideas."

Engaging with the complexity of Métis music

For Giroux, writing Métis Music gave her a deep appreciation of the nuances and complexity of Métis music and dance practices.

"Early in my career I recall someone wondering if I could spend much more of my career writing about Métis music, much less my entire career as I plan to do. I was pretty sure that I could, but writing this book has shown me that this is just the beginning. It is one perspective on a few aspects of Métis musical practice. So, more than anything, I hope that it sparks conversations about Métis music, and that current and future scholars add to this conversation through articles, books, podcasts, and more."

Giroux adds that she hopes her book will excite people about Métis music and encourage people to listen to Métis musicians. In addition, she hopes her work is used to better understand the issue of misuse of Métis music, and the responsibilities that Métis and non-Métis people have to Métis people and communities.

"Finally, I would say that I hope that the book can help place Métis music back at the heart of stories of music in Canada—exactly where it is meant to be."

Supporting local Métis communities

"First and foremost, I want to thank the Métis community in Lethbridge, and especially the late Elder Roderick McLeod, who unfortunately passed about six months before the book was published. I could not have done this work if I wasn’t surrounded by strong Métis people who are passionate about cultural continuity," Giroux says.

"Working in the Faculty of Fine Arts has also allowed me to connect with numerous Métis students who, likewise, instilled in me a desire to find ways to open music studies to a wider range of methodologies, musical practices and musicians. And finally, I’ve had the incredible opportunity over the past six years to hold the Canada Research Chair in Métis Music, which has given me the time to build a vibrant Métis music-centred research program."