Jessica Matten
Birth Name: Jessica Matten-Ye
Place of Birth: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Date of Birth: November 30, 1985
Ethnicity:
*father – British Isles, Chinese
*maternal grandfather – Red River Métis, Cree and Saulteaux First Nations
*maternal grandmother – Ukrainian
Jessica Matten is a Canadian actress. Her roles include the short film A Red Girl’s Reasoning, the films The Empty Man and Rez Ball, and the shows Blackstone, Frontier, Burden of Truth, Tribal, and Dark Winds. She is 5′10″.
A picture of Jessica’s father can be seen here. Her mother is activist, performer, and model Therese Ducharme. Jessica is said to be a descendant of Cuthbert Grant, the first rebel Métis leader, of the Battle of Seven Oaks. Jessica and her family run indigenous wellness and fitness company Lemon Cree.
Jessica’s maternal grandfather likely was named Roger A. Ducharme. Roger was born in St. Boniface, Manitoba.
Jessica’s maternal grandmother was Sylvia Toffan (the daughter of Alex Toffan and Sophie Smitznuk). Sylvia was of Ukrainian descent. Sophie was born in Krasne, Saskatchewan.
Sources: https://ictnews.org
https://x.com
Obituary of Jessica’s maternal grandfather, Roger A. Ducharme – https://passages.winnipegfreepress.com
Obituary of Jessica’s maternal step-grandfather, Edward Hein – https://passages.winnipegfreepress.com
Obituary of Jessica’s maternal great-grandmother, Sophie (Smitznuk) Toffan – https://passages.winnipegfreepress.com
Here are references of her mother being half Ukrainian:
https://ictnews.org/archive/canadas-pocahontas-theresa-ducharme-is-a-powerhouse/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExYmcwSTF3bWVVOGhESmQ2OHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR5h4W8fB0_wYL8-F3bTE8B3yR074KWkiqUV5r2ZWnusN5GQjlDsq1z-vRr88w_aem_gxd8l5dPbRN4ARy_NGcZrA
https://x.com/theresaducharme
I’ll add that I haven’t confirmed that Roger Ducharme was definitely her mother’s biological father. Both his and Edward Hein’s obituaries lists Jessica as their granddaughter and her mother also used both surnames before. But I can’t really believe that her mother doesn’t have any First Nations ancestry at all (Edward was white) so I’m assuming Roger was the father.
Here is apparently a record confirming Roger and Sylvia married in 1962:
https://www.mesaieux.com/genealogie/roger_ducharme
Picture of Jessica’s father:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVgHbRDlP6W/?hl=sv
Tag Ojibwe, since Saulteaux people are considered part of that group.