Friday, January 31, 2014

Native Alaskan Drums



One of the parents of an elementary student approached us and asked if we would be interested in her teaching the junior high & high school students (all 4 of them) how to make an authentic Native Alaskan drum. She would provide all of the materials and each student (and the lucky teachers) could create their own drum. She has a keen interest in Native Alaskan culture, though she is not a native herself. (In fact, if you've been following the blog, you will recognize her as Tracy, the Healthcare Practitioner from the clinic.) After the older kids become familiar with the process, she wants to return and with their help, teach the same lesson to the younger students which include her 2nd grade son. We jumped at the chance!

The supplies included bentwood frames, large pieces of dusty, dried rawhide and long rawhide strips for lacing. Doug spent 2 hours punching holes around the edges of the rawhide one evening with a leather punch. The next morning all the rawhide pieces were placed in warm water to soften. The kids drug their feet at working with such messy materials, but once they got started, they had a ball and they took the job every seriously.

Note:  Materials alone cost $50 for each student. The traditional method required a stretched walrus stomach or the lining of a whale's liver. Hard to believe, but those materials were just not readily available. We used rawhide taken from cattle. Whew!








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