Students of Lac La Hache Elementary School have created their very own Indigenous drums this school year.
The students had been guided by members of the Tsq̓éscen̓ First Nation (TFN) in constructing their own Indigenous drums, with some also doing a painted rattle. According to Lac La Hache Elementary School principal Mark Lewis, the drums had been created throughout the year by students.
"We had a first day, and what we did is we had one volunteer, who was either a parent volunteer or a volunteer from the community, sit with one of the students, and so Mike [Archie] was mostly the one who taught a brief lesson on how to build the drums," Lewis stated.
On another day, members of the TFN talked about the importance of Indigenous drums, as well as what should be painted on the drums. They told students that it should be personal and reflective of their own nature.
"So then the kids took that and they painted their own drums," Lewis said.
As a culmination of the project, the students will now learn to play their drums on May 16. In addition, Lewis says, the drums are meant as a commemorative gift for students when they either graduate or leave Lac La Hache Elementary.
"That's the time that we tell them that they can take the drum with them. And it's kind of a nice remembrance of the school, that way," Lewis stated. "They get to keep the drum when they leave the school."
Mike Archie, who is an outreach worker, former chief, elder and knowledge keeper of the TFN, said that drums are an important part of First Nations culture, as they use them for ceremonies, sharing songs during feasts and dances.
"They're important so that we share our culture and our songs with people that want to learn," Archie said. "In our culture, our drums are sacred. We take care of our drums and we treat them like a little baby because we need to look after our culture and our traditions, as to look after all our items that we used, we treated and handled them with care like we were taught."
The idea for this project came after Lewis went to Canim Lake to meet up with the members of the TFN, as well as a parent from the PAC committee, at a free lunch.
"So we met a number of the elders at this lunch. They were very open, very inviting. And when we told them that we were interested in drum making and songs, they said probably the best person for you to connect with would be Mike Archie," Lewis recalled.
Archie said that it had been great that Lewis had turned up, stating that he believed that they were looking to build the relationship between the TFN and the Lac La Hache school community.
The way the drums were created, according to Lewis, was that hides were soaked and left overnight. Afterwards, it took about an hour to get the drums finished. Lewis added that Archie had shown students numerous ways of sewing.
"Some weaves are a little bit more simple than others, but if one of our students had an adult helper with them, it would take about an hour, and that's just the constructing of the drum," Lewis noted. "Then it would take another hour to paint some of the paintings - quite intricate."
Lewis said the students were very proud of the drums they had created, despite some initial hesitation.
"They were like, how do I ever make this drum? But we worked with a company that gave us the basic material, and once Mike showed us, and they had an adult to help them, they found that they could be successful," Lewis said.
Archie said that the students creating the drums place value in understanding Indigenous culture.
"When the students use their own hands and put together a drum and a drumstick, and it adds more value and more feeling to that. It's more than just a drum. It's the relationship with First Nations and being able to understand a little more about the culture and tradition of our people," Archie said.
