Pearson wrote: One of the drum making lessons that Davis learned as a child was that birch wood is bent so that the outer side of the wood (the bark side) forms the outer side of the drum hoop. We must accept difficulties and tragedies so that we may give others strength to accept their own difficulties and tragedies. Later, after the frame had dried and locked into shape, Davis would carve and file the overlapping ends until they smoothly tapered together into a seamless hoop. If the strip broke or splintered, he would have to discard the board and start all over again. For this teaching, in particular, the knowledge will be focused on the Treaty 6 territory and more specifically from the Cree Teachings. We learn by listening to traditional stories, by listening to our parents or guardians, our fellow students and our teachers. Its in the Medicine Wheel. He then folded the hides edges back carefully over the frames sides: The hide will eventually dry and stretch across the frame. Normally, the left hand grasps the drums handle. This would keep them warm during the night. He spaced these about two inches apart and five-eighths of an inch above what would be the drums open bottom side. Our family is important to us. We started from the east, we went to the south, and in the emotion part we went to the west in our journey. Today I cut and peel spruce for the tipi poles and I use sticks to adjust the front flaps of the tipi entryway. Our community at Cedar Mountain Drums constructs each drum with love, respect and prayer. #northerncree #plainscree #language #drum If we are to live in harmony we must accept one another as we are, and accept others who are not in our circle. The East Door (spring) represents beginnings, positive aspects of re- When the drum was dry, Davis pulled the three rawhide handle strips tight, tied them together in the centre and trimmed the ends. And we need to encourage youth. And because that being is identified as a person at conception, the older women taught us how to balance ourselves during that nine-month journey, how to look after ourselves so that journey would not be disrupted. The old people will tell you it is life itself. Because they might be blocking out that day, but their spirit never blocks out; their spirit will take in the information. But I have made the commitment to share the teachings of the tipi each time I put one up. They have been used for several purposes including warnings, messages, rhythm accompaniment to musical instruments and dancing, chanting, sacred ceremonies and more recently, meditation and relaxation just to name a few. Generally, Cree women still perform this task: After a deer is killed, gutted and skinned, its hide is soaked, fleshed, de-haired, and then scraped (Pearson 1987, 21). It tells the whole story of how all life came into being abundantly bright, rising in the east and then fading away as it moves west and north. There are many sacred teachings about the plants and medicines, and of how they decided to be where they are, but that is another teaching for another time. Solomon Ratts collection of seven original stories relating to traditional Cree cultural teachings are assembled on this page, along with another useful list of minimal pairs. Each one points in a different direction. Theres a teaching in the four directions of the Medicine Wheel about responsibility and relationship between the four stages of life. In the Cree language, the centre, the fire, is iskwuptew. Whenever the Cree people did things like Round dances and other ceremonies. And they also resemble a bird with its wings up when it comes to land, and thats another teaching: the spirit coming to land, holding its wings up. My mother also taught how human life is conditioned in the first year. Each animal, plant, and human is the same distance from this center and has a unique and direct connection to it. And I know further north from here women hit the drum, he said. Thats why it was gifted at the time of creation of human beings that the adults should parent that infant and thats why Elders can often speak to young people better than an adult thats parenting that young person because that connection in the wheel is coming from north to the south, from Elder to youth. Theyll remember, because theyre going back into that journey. She used to say, Your child can hear everything you say, feels all your emotions.. When we are healing our heartaches, heartbreaks, or opening the heart and learning to speak from the heart, drumming with deer is powerful medicine. But, the time had not come yet, because the frame was still wet and imperfectly formed. Because we have the capability to be mentally intact, to know a lot of things that are needed in our communities, in our people. But balanced properly together, they are able to reinforce each other. Today when we talk about cleanliness, most people think hygiene, and thats very important. Cree8 will be hosting a Medicine Wheel Teachings, Smudging, and Medicine Bag Making Workshop Wednesday, December 16 & Wednesday, December 23 Online over Zoom Meetings----The Drums have been returned home!!! That was instilled in us when we were young people through fasting. To obtain the best sound, a drummer might need to sprinkle water on the hide and brush it in before playing. Each drum song conveys a meaning and message. The Ojibwe and Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) traditionally use water drums in some of their ceremonial practices. The sensitive part of us is our emotional realm, the part that feels the truth about whats around us. The Ojibwe and Iroquois people often hollowed out logs to craft these water drums. If there is too much hide hanging down from the frame, it will pucker when it dries and the tone-head will be too loose. And from there it goes to the elder who is tied to the youth. Davis left the two ends extending inside the drum frame toward the centre. He continued to plane the curved outer surface so that it would bend easily. When this was finished, Davis quickly arched the two ends together to complete the circle. Before making a tipi, I offer tobacco. We learn by their behaviors and reminders, so that we know what is right and what is wrong. Other Nations use 16 poles, and maybe more, I dont know. Today, many people are out of balance because they tend to only favour two realms of self, the mental and the physical. When you see old people go into that stage in their journey, beyond their mental capabilities and back into that infancy, spirit, they talk a lot about their childhood, remember it like it happened today, remember those stories so vividly, but they wont remember much about their adulthood or their youth. Its like when I pick sweetgrass, and when I braid it, theres a prayer that goes in there. But in sharing a little bit of the meaning it is hoped that you will continue on your journey to seek the teachings that you require. And were in that stage for a certain amount of time. Once the song is finished, explain to students that there are actual words sung in the drum song. They didnt have the material for large structures because they used hide instead of canvas and rocks instead of ground pegs. To do this perfectly, Davis had made a special device: a two-by-six board with a square notch cut into one side about three feet from one end. Every effort is also made to extend the teachings to full-day (or several-day) sessions such as in our Caribou Teachings partnerships with local cultural centres. Sharing our traditions on Maamuitaau, drum making teachings at the Old Post of Waswanipi with late elder Billy Cooper. When I used to sit with the old Kookums in their tipis, spiritually, they were so powerfully clean. Davis pulled up the tuning strings up with them and tied the whole thing with a knot. If theres anything we need to get rid of most often thats when we do it on our adult journey because sometimes we keep our mourning, our loses in family and life until that time when we realize we need to let go if were going to have a healthy journey. I will give you some words on each pole, to give a beginning idea of what the poles represent. In the story, Grandfather wakes the family with the Morning Song, Grandfather and mother make an Clean thoughts come from a clean mind and this comes from our spirituality. Through the sharing of responsibilities we learn the value of working together and enjoying the fruits of our labor. Its the same with a tipi. The tree also had to have a straight grain pattern. There is a Cree word we use today; we say migawap. The tipi teachings, as I call them today, relate to nurturing the four aspects of the self, the spiritual, physical, emotional and mental, which are rooted in the four directions. A brief look is also taken at other types of drums and their uses. Box 100, Saddle Lake, AB. Youre never done learning. They need help to walk, to be fed. Steve Wood , drum keeper and co-founder of Northern Cree, formed in 1982. At this ritualized victory celebration, the drummers have heated or cooled their drums to tune them to perfection. We can do our own thinking and speak out more as adults were stronger, more capable, if we have grown in a good way. . He placed this board against the cabin wall or laid it on two saw horses. First, Davis carefully selected a birch tree, one that was wet enough inside so that the drums frame will bend into a circle without breaking. The drum is the heartbeat of the Nation, and in the past here, they respected it. . It comes from the buffalo plant that was gifted to the women. Lacing a double spiral around the circle, he wove them in and out of the holes, pulling tightly at each one. You may notice that we have also The drum voices our connection to all creation when we drum We start our ceremonies in the east, and then well finish in the northern direction, which is our life journey. They teach us that we dont give up just because we fell. New songs will also enter the circle. My mother never used a measuring tape, or mapped things out mathematically she just cut out her tipi and made it. To start, we take three poles and bind them together to make a tripod. It wasnt because the parents couldnt parent, they just knew that cycle of teaching in the four directions. And thats okay. There were two clamps-one at each end of the overlap-and the sticks were lashed together as tightly as possible so that the overlap ends of the hoop would be flush with each other. That is why, when you construct a tipi, it involves ceremony: because the ceremony of making a tipi represents the value of womens teachings. Steve is a Cree Language instructor and Vice Principal at Ermineskin Jr/Sr Highschool located in Maskwacis, AB. My favourite Cree kinship term is nicpn, which means both my great grandparent *and* my great grandchild, and is the term that each of them calls the other. But, these strips would break after a few years of use, so Davis pushed copper plated rivets through the holes and pounded down the accompanying burrs on the other side. With balsam wood, it is just the opposite (1987, 19). We feel humbled when we understand our relationship with Creation. Spring in the east, summer in the south, fall in the west and winter in the north. This is how we honour the resources and gifts of our Mother Earth. It is called prairie buffalo sage. We must show some enthusiasm to encourage others. When I talk about the teachings, its not to alter or change them; I can only share how it was told to me. 2021 This project was made possible with the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage through Canadian Culture Online. It came in the shape of a dome, which we still use today. A newborn is very powerful, the greatest of all teachers. Using some of the same 26 holes along the bottom of the frame, Davis laced three strips across the centre of the drum. Its like a woman standing there with her arms out, saying Thank you to everything. This includes our parents, brothers and sisters, who love us and give us roots that tie us to the lifeblood of the earth. For example, you would always carry your child with two hands, with the greatest respect; you dont carry such a special gift under one arm. Respect means giving honor to our Elders and fellow students, to the strangers that come to visit our community, and to all of life. When the tuning strings are unengaged, the drum produces its basic sound, a low humming tone with faint upper partials. The program is always held at IHB on Tuesday after school & evenings. After working his way down the strips full length, he began the process again with the other end. My mother said that the women were named after that fire in the centre of the tipi, which brought that warmth and comfort. Its better if the emotion turns into a release through crying, which is a good way. Davis brought this end through the inside over to hole C. From there he stretched it outside and over the top of the frame to be laced through hole D from the outside. We call it having a nightmare, but thats not what it is. Drums and drum-making reflect all that is traditional in Indian countryrespect for the animals, trees, sacred plants, fire and the people you want to sing for. He did this about five times, then flipped the board, put the other end in the pail, and poured another five dippers of water down the board (Pearson 1987, 19). Colleen Mustus is the storyteller and a Cree Elder who shares the Cree way to attract good spirits. He then hung the drum overnight from a beam above the woodstove. This made a more secure and longer-lasting frame. And we should take the youth to see different people. Were supposed to be the brain people; if weve looked after ourselves, we get to that stage in our journey. Then, he removed the bark until the strip was about three-quarters of an inch thick. All life rises and sets like the sun. We are the ones that make decisions for families. The creation of a drum is an art form handed down from father to son. It means being balanced in the four parts that are found in the four directions of the Medicine Wheel. Lisa is an artist who shares her story on a contemporary hand drum. We go back into that spirit world of being an infant one more time. It is a time when you can process your emotions and no longer be afraid or shy, when you are brave enough to tell your story. As Cree people, we were given the gift of being named for the four parts of human beings. Davis measured the nearly-finished hoop at four equally-spaced points, then marked the places where the diameter was lower than ideal. Watch later. This was a crucial moment. Nehiyawak, we were called. My mother would sit and talk with the young women, and the men too, about how to make that connection with that spirit, before the child was even born. This teaching comes from the teaching of the drum, the circle that is the drum. We must look forward to moving toward good things. Drums have been in the human experience for about as long as humans ourselves. Notice the poles, the way they stand. And they continue to teach us as they grow. So when the lodge became bigger through the structure of the tipi, they could make a fire inside. We went through our emotional stage of life. He drilled four holes three-eighths of an inch below the top side of the drum frame. Davis paired these holes about one inch apart and directly across from each other: The tuning strings are made from a single length (about forty-five inches) of stretched and twisted rawhide (Pearson 1987, 20). My mother used a bone from the moose leg to close the tipi in the front. Drum Teachings for Success: Relatively new hand drum making / drumming & singing program for Native American boys and girls to the age of 24 years old. If necessary, he would adjust the circle, inserting sticks at the proper points to stretch it into a perfect circle. Our lives are like the Medicine Wheel all our motion, our life, our journeys are in the Medicine Wheel. This fundamental tone contains various harmonics and the inharmonic partials (not members of a harmonic set such as the octave, fifth, third, etc.). Whoever I give that sweetgrass to, when they burn it, those prayers come out, and they help that person. The tipi does not have to face east all the time; it can rotate in any direction. That is what the tipi is - it is the spirit and body of woman, because she represents the foundation of family and community. Before that, Davis ancestors fashioned drill bits from harder wood, stone, or bone and twirled these in wooden hand drills spun with a cord. You might not agree, but hear how that person is teaching. One of the Nehiyaw/Cree drums has a single-head for an individual player. It can be very harmful. The fire is in the centre of the Medicine Wheel. These four parts for human beings are the spiritual, physical, emotional and mental aspects of the self. She called it Eshkawasis, meaning new child. She stressed the importance of this first year - that the new chids journey in this time should be especially safe. Info. If they stood straight up and down, they couldnt support a tipi. After the tripod is up, the fourth pole completes your doorway. No matter how many children and great grandchildren come into that circle of hers, she always still has room. Shopping. Tap to unmute. For ceremonial purposes, the Cree face the doorway east because that represents the beginning of creation. The tipi is also a symbol of the women, so in honour of my mother and great grandmother and Cree women everywhere, I will share some of these tipi teachings with you. So when I go out to the land and cut down the tipi poles, I make offerings of tobacco each time. Thats like any ceremony we go to. The songs often use a rhythm of long, short, long, short. When I make something, its not just to make it; its got meaning to it. The pair was lashed together with the overlapping ends in between them. Now, Davis tapered the overlapping ends with a knife and file. Its main components are a birch wood frame and a deer hide head. This way of being in the world was taught to me by my mother through the teachings of making a tipi. The tops of the poles have many teachings. As it comes around the tipi, it embraces all those teachings, the values of community that the women hold. While Davis was trimming the wood, he heated a pail of water almost to the boiling point: One end of the wood was put in the pail, and Davis poured water down its length with a dipper. The tree also had to have a straight grain pattern. Davis cut a piece of rawhide about 40 inches in diameter. We learn to give thanks: to always be thankful for the Creators bounty, which we are privileged to share with others, and for all the kind things others do for us. It wouldnt make sense to have your tipi too high, because the winds and storms would catch it. The strength of our culture is so strong and its the young people who are the keepers of this strength to carry it on. From the outside, Davis brought the ends of the strip together in the drums centre. But they couldnt make a fire in there to cook. For every time that a pole is added, a rope goes around to bind that pole into place. We all need the strength and support of our families and communities, but we accept that we all have different journeys and point in different directions. All I know is what I know I was taught and that is the teachings for 15 poles. Sadly, some people even think it is respected. This is the ultimate responsibility to achieve the balance and well being of the body, mind, emotions and spirit for the individual, the family, the community and the nation. Davis wife, Helen, already had prepared a cache of skins. His sensitive hearing was expertly tuned to let him know that he was bending the board equally at each point. To produce this program, people knowledgeable about the traditions and values that surround the drum were interviewed. They had to do all their cooking outside. Because it hears your voice, has your emotions, feels your spiritual state during that nine-month journey. In our language, for old woman, we say, Notegweu. Sundance Teachings Part 2: Cree Name. It is through her that we learn the values that bring balance into our lives. The tipi teachings are passed on. In Pearsons narrative, the hoops diameter was approximately 16 inches. Now we are sort of the thinking part of the community, of the family. "The maker of a drum must possess knowledge in the cleaning, tanning and stretching of animal skins. Then, he soaked it overnight in a solution of water and lye that he obtained from wood ashes or from Sunlight bar soap. Davis also prepared to make tuning strings. But being spiritual is remembering. Tom Porter, a respected speaker and teacher of traditional culture, explains the drum, the teachings of the drum and the songs of the drum. For me this fire is also the self. The type of hide affects the overall tone. "The tipi pole teachings represent a guide to good living for Aboriginal people," says Derek Thunder, NAIT Encana Aboriginal Student Centre co-ordinator. A lot of people today are scared of youth; we dont quite understand or trust them. But theres a reason why: weve kept them apart from that circle of life. Having respect for and understanding this connection creates and controls harmony and balance in the circle of life. That is why, when I am asked to make a tipi for someone, I take them through the ceremony so that they can embrace the true meaning and teaching of the tipi. Its never a smooth journey when you are an adult because you have a lot of responsibility. The people would gather the rocks outside, heat them up, and then bring them into a pit in the middle. We are so small compared to the majestic expanse of Creation, just a strand in the web of life. Understanding this helps us to respect and value life. Many drum teachings by First Nations in BC use the circle to represent balance and equality, wholeness and connection. When we dont know how to use the flaps, it gets all smoky inside the tipi, and you cant see, which is like life because if we cant live in balance, we cant see clearly where were going. Saddle Lake Cree Nation. And as you look out, you make your circle. Because its not ours; everything we take is borrowed; were borrowing time; were borrowing all the things we need to make a tipi. Our hides are from Deer will open you to the higher Drum truth of the intention of your heart. The newest-formed wood worked best, so he trimmed from the inner side as he peeled away the loose layers of bark. And those children teach us, help us to remember to go back and do things over and over again even when we fall. Not just sometimes, but every day. Our physical aspect is represented here. That rope is a sacred bond, binding all the teachings together until they are all connected. The drum is a spiritual symbol. https://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/indian-tribes/cree-tribe.htm They forget to look after their spiritual side, and often dont know how to express and deal with their emotions. . Even as they get older, they fall by playing. They soak each skin for one to four days, then scrape and shave them with fleshing tools made out of deer and moose foreleg bones attached to toothed steel blades. Before chain saws existed, a drum-maker would carve the wooden strip using an axe and knives. When that lodge came to us, you couldnt make a fire in there. When you criss-cross the directions as you tie the drum, it shows how adults can parent an infant because the tie goes from the child to the adult. Young people sometimes disrespect the Elders when theyre talking about stories and teachings; theyre correcting them. cultural teachings learned from an Elder. If you listen, youll be richer, because now youve heard different sides of the story. Copy link. Currently in its fourth (4th) round of programs and will be offered every quarter (every three months) for the foreseeable future. We must honor the basic rights of all others. When you look at the Medicine Wheel, you start from self. But that is not what it means to be emotional. If one pair of holes was considered A and D, the opposite side would be B and C. The end of the rawhide was laced through A from the inside, drawn over the frames top, then pulled through hole B from the outside. This activity will help to demonstrate the complexity and interrelatedness of all of the elements in nature. Love means to be good and kind to one another and to our selves. Our good actions will make our ancestors happy in the next world. The Cree people use 15 poles to make the structure of the tipi. What we do in between is our journey. To lace the hide to the frame, Davis used two lengths of moose-skin twine. The bundle can consist of a Sacred Pipe (earned through fasting), Drum, Rattles, Eagle Feathers or other types of feathers, Medicines such as sweetgrass, sage, cedar, tobacco, etc., In the different tribes across Canada, there are different ways to set up a Tipi based on the area. But well show anger before well show that true part of ourselves because we have learned to be embarrassed by it. During this procedure, Davis listened carefully. We need to respect youth, and accept them into our world. He looped around the strips about nine times; then tied a knot, creating a six-sided centre-piece for the handle (Pearson 1987, 22). The Cree actually didnt use this big drum long ago they used smaller drums and to see a drum of this size was once rare among the Cree tribes. They can sense things that are not the norm, and let you know, protect you spiritually. Then, he started slowly bending the strips using gentle and even pressure. The woman spirit comes from the east, where the sun rises, where our warmth and vision starts. Nowadays finding these drums is pretty easy. Sometimes grandparents only took that child for a year or two, sometimes longer. The finished hides are set aside to be become drums, or the women tan them into buckskin for clothing. Well get angry because thats accepted. The FundamentalsTM of Drumming for Kids program uses a variety of teaching techniques that mimic the curriculum used in the elementary classroom. When that time comes, a celebration feast happens, and Elders come and pray for that young person on the next stages of their journey. Typically, a large hide, such as a moose, require two women to work all day. When you criss-cross the directions as you tie the drum, it shows how adults can parent an infant because the tie goes from the child to the adult. Davis placed the drum frame with its bottom side up on the top of the hide-covered basin. When his crafters eye was satisfied, Davis hung the frame to dry above the cabins wood stove for approximately four days. I think the mental part is there because were capable then to stop and think, and look at our journeys and foresee the journeys of our people. These three together fortify the structure. We learn to be part of a family and community by helping with the provisions of food and other basic needs. Look at the four seasons and follow the sun. Similarly, he ran the other two strips using holes 6 and 19 and holes 10 and 23. We have time to think; were not so rushed, not so physical any more. You often see old people starting to forget, starting to act like children. Woman in our language is iskwew, more than one woman, iskwewuk. That is why today you can still find circles of rocks, or tipi rings, on the land. You may have a drum with you, and one day it might tell you that it is time for you to pass it onto a new person. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device. In this part of our journey, we become young people. Respect kistyihtamowin . My mother also taught us to give thanks to Mother Earth for accepting our child to walk upon her. They stand behind the drum and sing along, said Crier. It is only the first time that I request that the tipi face east, because of the opening ceremony. We have good energy at this time of our journey. To sustain our spirituality, we need to walk it every day. Striking the centre of the drum produces more harmonic partials, while the areas of the periphery of the head produce more inharmonic partials when struck (Pearson 1987, 22).
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