The Magazine

My Indigenous Spirituality: Life Cycle

March 4, 2025
By: EMP

Learning how to drum and how to be in ceremony.
Making my own drum,
from deer hide and sinew, guided by the wise hands and watchful eyes of an elder.
Feasting my drum, following protocol.
Caring for my drum, wrapping her in beautiful natural red fabric.
Offering tobacco, learning
respect through my drum.
Smudging myself and my drum, gaining clarity and feeling renewed.
Drumming in community,
In cozy circles and in raucous circles, with babies and with elders.
Drumming on my own to connect, outside with wind, snow, rain falling gently on
my face.
Drumming in the forest and noticing that deer were not startled by me or by my
drum.

Drumming in safe places.
Drumming in colonizer’s spaces.
Drumming as resistance.
Drumming with joy.
Drumming in grief.
Drumming for comfort.
Feeling safe and connected and free.
Learning songs of my people.
Finding my voice, in chorus with others.
Knowing my drum as my grandmother – a kind relationship.
Appreciating the skill of an elder who sewed and mended my torn drum.

Deeply understanding the lessons my drum has taught me.
Relying on my drum for survival.
Feeling the deep pain when a malevolent colonizer destroyed my drum.
Unfixable drum, that saved me.
Ceremony for my broken drum.
Mourning the loss of my drum.
Remembering to breathe to the rhythm of my heart and of life and of my drum.

About the poem

The drum is an important spiritual, ceremonial, and traditional item in many Indigenous communities. I can only speak to some of the
teachings that I have received, as there are specific protocols for drum use that vary from community to community It is important to
smudge oneself and one’s drum prior to drumming, usually with sweet grass, or other sacred medicines like sage or cedar. It is important
to come to the drum and the drum circle with good intentions and be mindful of the energy that is being shared. For many folks,
drumming is a form of connection, with community and with Creator. The drum represents the heartbeat of Mother Earth and drum
ceremony involves calling in the ancestors, for healing and for celebration.

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About the Author

Emp is a Mi’kmaw woman whose family has been deeply impacted by colonization. She has a varied background in education, healing work, arts, and science. Emp resides on Turtle Island and is grateful for the gifts that she has co-created through drum circles over the years.