Bio Our group, Les Gens des Chutes, people of the falls (pronounced lay-zahn-day-shoot), grew out of a monthly jam session in Olympia that plays French Canadian dance music. In 2013, Fort Nisqually in Tacoma asked a number of us to perform at a historic event. We chose a name for our group that pays tribute to the French Canadian fur trappers who worked at Fort Nisqually in the early 1800s as well as to the South Puget Sound area where we all live. History tells us that when those trappers saw our local landmark, Tumwater falls, they exclaimed "des chutes,” or waterfalls in French. The name stuck. Today, the river over those falls is the Deschutes River. We cheerfully play, perform, and promote French Canadian dance music at every opportunity.
