History Box

Making the Drum  

My father was raised by my great-grandfather, Joe Jeremy. And great-grandfather was a very traditional person. I didn’t know him, but a lot of what I do is because of him and hearing the stories from my father. But he was a canoe builder, birchbark canoe builder, a basket maker. He made waltes games, moose calls, many, many things. So, I grew up hearing stories about him, and I guess that’s where I became fascinated, hearing these stories, and being in the same land where he was, and launching my first canoe where great-grandfather used to build his.  

So, my father told me a lot of things about what I do today, but a lot of what I learned, I had to learn myself. A lot of times elders will give you bits and pieces that you need, but they won’t give you everything. I think they want you to go out, and take what you know, and try to learn with that.   

And that’s what I had to do. My father would tell me how to pluck spruce roots. He would tell me how to collect birchbark. He would tell me how to bend wood. But a lot of it, I had to do myself. So, over the years, bending wood, I broke a lot of pieces of wood, but in breaking that wood, I actually learned a great deal, because over time, you realize that if you bend, and if it’s not done properly, it’ll break.   

So, I learned a lot over the years of what part of the animals to use, and what part, usually from the centre of the neck right down to the backbone to the tail, is the thickest part of the hide. And around the belly part, it’s really thin, so you don’t use that too much. So, I would draw a line from the upper neck right to the tail, right down the backbone. So, half of the drum would be on one side. And the other half would be on the other side. So, the skin would be even. So eventually, then the leftover part of the hide, I would use for the lacing.   

Four balances things out. This is the back of the drum, and it’s North, South, East, and West. And then I have … everything is connected in four. And then this part in the middle here, that’s the handle. And that is moose antler. And again, with the moose antler, I have to make four holes. So, everything is connected.   

So, eventually you end up with the drum. But the skin is like your hand, your skin; if you get water on your hand, it’ll stretch. Your skin stretches. And same thing with this. If there’s water on this, it’ll stretch. If it’s dry, if it’s really, really hot, your skin will tighten up, and sometimes even crack. So, this can do the same.   

So, this here is yellow cedar, the skin from the deer, or the elk, or whatever was available, and then the moose antler, and then, the person holding it. So, you have the spirit of the cedar, the spirit of the deer, the spirit of the moose, and the spirit of the person holding the drum. So, you have four. So, everything kind of works. And yeah, so that’s how I make the drum. 

Mi’kmaq Friendship Song

 Every drum will have its own unique sound. And I would say that every one has its own personality, just like people. You know, every piece of wood is different. Every skin is different. It’s all different. But that’s the incredible thing about it. It takes all the differences to make a beautiful world, and a beautiful earth. So, it’s all good. So, I’ll just sing a little song here, which is a friendship song. I sing it all the time. But I haven’t sang for about two years now, so I might be a little rusty.   

[Singing 00:46:20 – 00:47:05]   

And that song can go on forever. But it’s a friendship song. Sometimes, in the Indigenous cultures throughout Canada, it’s important for us to give things away—to share, to give. Sometimes when we don’t have something physical to give, we can sing. I think every community, or tribe, in the world, since time immemorial, had a drum. So, it was music. It was something that had a beat. And it was almost like the heartbeat. It’s like our heartbeat.   

So, today, we’d use it for all sorts of different occasions, from weddings, to various ceremonies. Sometimes we use them in large groups, in community events. Sometimes we might just have the drum, sitting by the river, by ourselves. Maybe we’ll sing; maybe we’ll just drum. There’s a vibration that you get. It’s incredible because it can go right through your body. It’s very healing.   

It’s important to respect. It’s important to respect people, the environment, animals. Respect is number one. So, when you’re using the drum, always use it with respect. And a lot of young children, when they first get a chance, they want to hit it really hard. And I would explain to them that, you know, “You might break it, but you also want to be respectful.” And by hitting it too hard, it wouldn’t be. Unless it was a powwow drum, and it was a really big drum. So, whatever you do, do it in a respectful way.