The Montana Métis Music and Art Fest at the Choteau Pavilion on June 3-5 will feature a dynamic lineup of speakers, an old-time fiddle contest, daily tradi-tional food concessions and new this year, a jigging dance contest.

Sponsored by the Mitchif Heritage Keepers nonprofit organization, the event begins each day with posting of the colors and an opening prayer followed by a social meet and greet and breakfast concessions from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

During the day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday there will be art and craft booths, a raffle, concessions, guest speakers, Métis language workshops, music and dancing and more.

This year’s speakers are the Rev. Alfred Moran Jr., a Turtle Mountain Métis who will be speaking on the history of the Métis in Montana; Monique Giroux, the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Music, Culture and Politics with the Universi-ty of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada; and Rosalyn LaPier, an award-winning Indige-nous writer, ethnobotanist and environmental activist with a doctorate degree in environmental history.

Moran attended Northern Montana College at Havre, the University of Mon-tana in Missoula and the Central Indian Bible College in Mobridge, South Dakota.

He has been a professional musician for many years, traveling along with his five sisters to perform in the United States and Canada. While living in Malta for many years, he was involved in community action programs and sometimes drove school activity buses for sporting events.

Now retired, he spends his time reading and studying Métis history and at-tending his grandchildren’s sporting events.

He will speak from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Friday.

Giroux…