Being a drum-maker is a calling. It's not an occupation. It's not about making money. It's about keeping an important part of the Native culture alive. Keith Little Badger saw that Native American powwows and festivals in southeastern United States had lost the tradition of the Hand Drum. All dancing and ceremony in the south revolved around the single larger powwow drum. The Drum People decided to resurrect the Hand Drum tradition in the south.
In 2005, an informal hand drum contest was held outside the tent of The Drum People at the Canton, GA Mother's Day Powwow. Singers gathered and began a friendly impromptu contest to see who could compose and perform the best round dance song. The drummers sang mostly 49er songs. These are songs that use English lyrics, with some vocables, and focus on matters such as love, everyday life, enjoyment of singing and dancing.
In 2006, word spread about the "hand drum thing" at The Drum People's booth. Many Native Americans gathered. We decided to award prizes. Three judges were selected. The boys began to sing. The crowd slowly wandered away from the stage's paid performers to hear the inspired hand drumming and lyrical singing drifting in from the back forty acres. Suddenly, The Drum People were hosting a hand drum event! Victor, Commanche, took first place and walked away with a 16 inch hand drum made by Keith Little Badger.
By 2007, the promoter of Canton, GA Mother's Day Powwow (Chipa Wolfe) moved the growing hand drum event to the stage. Judges were selected from among Native American elders. The audience was asked to participate by cheering for the best hand drummer. Cheryl quickly threw together a sign out sheet as young men came into The Drum People booth to borrow drums. Many nations were represented. We heard voices from the southwest, the northeast, Canada, the Plains, and the southeast. Drummers sang many styles of round dance songs and traditional hand drum songs. Judges picked the finalists. The crowd selected their favorites. The Drum People provided three new hand drums made by Keith Little Badger to the winners. First place went to Keith Sharphead, Canada. We had the first "sort of official" contest.
Still determined, The Drum People staged another informal Hand Drum Competition behind their booth at a 2006 powwow in Florida. Because there were many Native Americans from Northern Nations, they began to dance the smoke dance and to play smoke dance songs on the hand drums.
One of our friends asked, "how do we keep it going?" We said, "throw money on a blanket." Mayra tossed her coat on the ground and dropped a twenty on it. People began to circle the northern dancers. The smoke dance is said to have originated in the long houses of the Iroquois Nations. Elders would drum and sing while the children danced in a circle, faster and faster. The whirling motion caused the smoke from fires to rise smoothly to the vent roof holes. At the Florida powwow, bills formed a jumbled pile on Mayra's coat. The guys continued to dance. They began chanting for others to join: "Andrew, Andrew... Maria, Maria." Suddenly we looked around. About 100 people were behind our tent. The performer at the microphone sang to empty bleachers.
In 2007, we received a new contract from this powwow. It had a clause about NOT interrupting paid performers with unscheduled activities (i.e. our little smoke dance/hand drum competition). The dancers and drummers arrived that year. Word spreads fast on the powwow trail. A few young men from the first year had made some decent money and had a whole lot of fun. But we explained that we could not lend drums or allow the contest to take place because our contracts said ...
We learned from that experience. Respect all performers. There is a time and a place for every event. But in the south, we had yet to find a powwow that would give the time and the place for a hand drum event. Fade back to Canton. Chipa invited the drummers on stage in 2007. So we called Chipa.
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This Web Site was Created and Maintainted by Cheryl Talking Bird Last Update: October 5, 2011
