Tli Cho (Dogrib) Rawhide skin of caribou stretched over wooden frame, snares of babiche; four divisions at back; carefully woven centre. Hand drum used for personal ceremonies, accompanying songs for various dances including Drum, Couple, Lines, and udzi handgame Unpadded slightly curved beater of willow 23.3 cm. Purchased by Elaine …
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Log Drum
Kwakwaka’wakw First Nation shaped from a solid log of red cedar Used by a team of skilled singers at the potlatch ceremony. These singers practice for many hours to learn the special songs that have been composed the Chief’s potlatch ceremony.
Cedar Box Drum
Kwakwaka’wakw First Nation Boards of red cedar with a raven design painted on it A learned singer is chosen to lead the singers with the beat of this drum.
Ojibwe Bird Drum
Used to keep time during songs.
An Inuit Drum
Luke Arna’naaq discussed different sizes of drums that he remembered in his childhood: I recall seeing various sizes of drums. They were almost identical except the larger drums seemed oversized. The smaller drums . . . had fawn skin stretched over them. . . . Drums were purposely [designed] with …
The Vision of Tailfeather Woman
The Ojibwe have a famous legend of how the ceremonial powwow drum came to their people through a Sioux named Tailfeather Woman. This story was written in a letter to Thomas Vennum in 1970 by William Bineshi Baker, Sr., an Ojibwe drum maker from Lac Court Oreilles Reservation in northern …
Welcome
Welcome to Native Drums, an exciting and innovative website devoted to the rich heritage of First Nations culture and music in Canada. With games, videos, and moving image galleries for Kids, in-depth interviews and articles for students, the image research database for scholars, and downloadable resource kits for teachers, Native …
Iroquois Water Drum
The water drum was used to keep time during songs, it was traditionally made out of birch wood. The inside of the drum is filled with water.
Strings (Chordophones)
Much of the written literature has argued that no Aboriginal stringed instruments existed in the pre-contact period, but this was not the case. Most cultures used the bow and arrow for hunting and discovered the sound–producing capabilities of this implement. Buffy Ste. Marie has been instrumental in bringing the usage …
Dzunuk’wa
Kwakwaka’wakw First Nation “UCC 80.01.41 The giantess Dzunuk’wa is a member of the large family of giants who live in the far away mountains and woods. Black in color, with bushy, unkempt hair and a pursed mouth through which she utters the cry, Hu! Hu! She was a terrifying and …