Bridges: Courtney Dawn Anaquad Finds Connections in Metty Jigging

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Courtney-Dawn Anaquod united her two passions on the world stage at New York Fashion Week earlier this year. Modeling and Metis jigging.

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Photos from the event show her about to perform a traditional dance on the runway.

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“It was like a dream come true for her. I was so happy…just supporting her in her dreams,” recalls father Donnie Anaquad.

Although she spent most of her life jigging, Anaquad’s dream of becoming a fashion model came true much later.

She started in 2019 and soon won the 2020 International Indigenous Arts Fashion Model of the Year Award, thanks to a nomination from SS River Designs designer Christine Tournier-Tinkerkemp.

The award included an opportunity to walk the runway at New York Fashion Week, but the trip was postponed until this year due to Covid-19.

2020 has been a complicated year for Anaquod. She found herself both saddened by the death of her husband and happy to be recognized as a model for her.

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“He started showing me and helping me understand what true worth and love is like as a person,” she says.

“I think everything that happened that year pushed me further. It opened the door and really helped me in that grieving process and the healing journey of losing someone who was never meant to be lost. I had an opportunity that brought me together when I was younger.”

Her experience at NYFW has provided her with additional modeling opportunities, including an indigenous fashion show in France this spring.

Anaquad’s passion for Metis jigging incorporates it into everything she can.

“Dancing has been central to who I am. And my dancing follows me wherever I go. Giving a motivational speech usually ends in a performance.”

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At a young age, she found a deeper connection to her roots when she began learning traditional jigging from her musician father.

“My kokum was a championship jigger. It’s been in my family,” she says.

“I grew up culturally connected in that way …[and]whatever the challenge, whatever the obstacles our family experienced due to the impact of boarding school, or the generational trauma, music has brought us together. It brought us together, dance brought us together. It healed us.”

Today, she is a champion and instructor in jigging and runs the Qu-Appelle Valley Square Dancers, a square dance troupe in Métis. She continues to feel that cultural connection to her every time she dances, she says.

“I am not alone because I am with all my spirits, all my ancestors and my loved ones who have passed away. They are dancing right beside me.”

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Her father, Donny, says he can tell that Anaquad really feels the music and the steps when he dances.

“When she’s on that dance floor, she’s dancing from her heart…and it’s uplifting for her.”

As an instructor, Anaquod will teach the history of jigging and explain how different cultures are represented in footwork.

“I tell many students…they have their own dance style. No one is going to dance the same way. There is no right way or wrong way.”

Helping Indigenous youth reconnect with their culture and traditions is a rewarding job for Anaquod.

“Just as our ancestors paved the way for us, I pave the way for the younger generation.”

Anaquad shares jigging and powwow dancing with high school students through her work with the Saskatoon Public Schools Indigenous Ensemble.

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Indigenous Ensemble Artistic Director Don Speidel says Anaquod connects with students on an emotional level and often helps them more than they need to.

“She has the charisma to work with young people. Through dance, through movement, through positivity.”

Speidel says the ensemble works to support young people and give them a sense of belonging.

Her father, Donny, says Anaquod has become a positive role model for so many, especially in the way she teaches through learning.

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“She wants to listen and learn from others because … how can we live in harmony without learning from each other?”

Anaquod recently joined a global network called Connection North — Take it Global. This is a virtual link between Indigenous role models and schools across Canada.

“[I]enjoy getting to know the children and young people at school. We are working on it,” she says.

role model for many

Anaquad says it took a long time to get to where she is now and to be able to follow her dreams.

“I didn’t get here overnight… Everything I went through, they were all stepping stones to all the opportunities I had in life.”

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Growing up, she witnessed addiction and domestic violence within her family and later personally battled them.

In her work, she chooses to share stories about these experiences. No matter how hard you try, there is hope,” she says.

Wanting to help other families in similar situations, she earned a Diploma in Mental Health and Wellness through the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology.

“A lot of what I do comes from watching[families]overcome those challenges and pursue careers in the mental health and addiction field,” she says. .

She is also driven by a desire to be an inspiring role model for her two children.

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“[I]raise them to be proud of who they are and where they come from, and to carry on those cultures and traditions with pride.”

Anaquod recently became director of the Jacoby Center, a non-profit organization that runs Nutana Collegiate and supports young parents who are school students.

She helps these students prepare for parenthood, provides guidance, and supports mental health. She also helps them plan their continuing education to ensure they get their diplomas.

Anaquad is a young parent herself and uses her personal experience to connect with the students she teaches through the center.

Her father, Donnie, says young parents look up to Anaquad and seem to learn a lot from her approach.

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“They support each other as they work together and discuss personal issues.”

Anaquad says she wants to impress those she works with that there is always hope.

“I saw the word ‘impossible’ and when I cut it in half it said ‘I am possible’…that changed my mindset.”

jbennett@postmedia.com

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