Native American Drums 

  Drums played a key role in Native American Culture. To many people it may just be an instrument, but to Native Americans it is the heart of their Culture. The drum was a sacred instrument, so much so that a drum master was appointed to watch over them. Drums have such a huge rule in this culture that it could not thrive without them.
  As a class we know that Native Americans are very in touch with nature. Drums were made from the gifts that mother nature had provided. Even making the drums was a sacred process. One theory i came across was that drums were made in a circle to represent earth and life. The drums consisted of a hollow wooden frame with animal skin stretched over it. It was believed that the tree and animal that the drum was made out of lived within the drum. Every drum was hand crafted and hand decorated. Even the drums that are made today by Native Americans are each hand crafted.
  Dances and ceremonies have a huge part in Native American culture. Drums were able to provide a back beat for these dances. Whenever there were any special dances or ceremonies you can count on drums being there too. The powwow is the biggest social gathering that Native Americans had. It was so important that it took months, even up to a year to plan them. I searched the role of drums in powwows and discovered that there were special drums made specifically for these major events. Within the powwow there was a huge circle called the dance arena. People would crowd around to see these arenas, and right smack in the middle were the powwow drums. This shows the importance of these drums. These drums were the music of the party. The trained dancers would not have much to dance to if the drums weren't there.
  Not only did drums provide music for the tribe, but they were a way for Native Americans to communicate. It was believed that they could use drums to communicate with their forefathers. Drums were a way to reach the deceased. They acted as a portal to the other side. It was also believed that the Great Spirit could be contacted through the power of drums. Therefore, drums helped with their religious beliefs and rituals. They acted as a connection to the Great Spirit, like how prayer connects Christians to God. Drums also were used in communication in battle and warfare.
  Drums had a role in medical procedures too. It was believed that when the drum was beaten, evil spirits were driven out of the body and the sweet tones of the drum replaced them with good spirits. I myself, being a drummer, can see how the smooth tones of a drum can help someone relax. As a matter of fact, I found that today there is drum therapy for Native Americans today. This therapy is called DARTNA (drum assisted recovery therapy for Native Americans). This therapy was made to help Native Americans with substance abuse disorders. When i researched this procedure i found the official website for this practice and one evaluating it. It found the optimism when i read " A research study conducted by a team of pschiotrists in La, California concluded that drumming is beneficial for Indian Americans with substance abuse disorders."
  Drums have proved to be an important part of this culture. They act as instruments, a communicator, a healer, and a religious tool for Native Americans. It is not only the back beat to this culture, but the back bone.

 Native American Drums

 Passion

 

Drum Therapy 

Sources 

• Drum Therapy  

When researching this project I wanted to look at all aspects of the use of these drums (communication, music, healing etc.). This source gave me a legitimate source to see how the drum healing has prevailed today.

• Powwow  

I already knew that powwows were of great importance to the Native Americans, but i wanted to find the role of drums in this great event. However, I needed to find the importance and history of powwows and this site helped me do just that.

• Native American Drums  

This site gave me a very brief description  of Native American drums and their importance. Although it was brief, it gave me a sense of the pride involving Native American Drums.

• Drum culture   

This site gave me a distant view of the culture involving Native American drums.

• Drum History 

This book gave me a factual history of Native American drums. Also this book gave me information on the materials involved and the techniques used.

Cowboys  

       In the west the cowboy became the figure of a great American hero, when in reality he was the great American zero. The cowboy was portrayed as a rugged, hard working, honorable, chick magnet, however this is not the case. In reality they were low paid young men who weren't very good with the ladies. Well, most if them were young, some of them were just strange old men who wanted to be around cows all day. To be honest, cowboys were looked down upon. I find it interesting that they were so heavily romanticized. It would be like if we took garbage men and turned them into pop culture icons. Its pretty funny to think about. 
      Due to the fact of the over idolization, there have been several realities of western life that have been overlooked. For example, someone with such a low status as the cowboy would not have a gun at their disposal all the time. A gun would most likely be out of a cowboy's budget.  Even if a cowboy did have a gun, it would definitely not be for fighting Indians. Society has gotten so wrapped up in cowboys that the other situations in the west have been overlooked. The real fight was not between Indians and cowboys, but between Whites and Asians. That's where the real violence and action was. Also, the Mexicans were fighting for a political voice and women were starting to vote. All these aspects have been "swept under the rug" because of the obsession with cowboys. However, its easy to get lost in all the hype with cowboys when there is so much influence coming from art and entertainment. 
       The influence of artwork had caused people to romanticize the west as a great beautiful landscape and people began to think of cowboys as the heroic men who roamed these vast areas with great authority. Also, books were a huge factor. People all across the United States read about cowboys and they believed what they read and had no reason not to due to their lack of knowledge of cowboys. Movies also had a great impact because they allowed people to see cowboys in action. When the Virginian became a movie, people go to see a cowboy in an action packed adventure. This was perfect because it was appealing to men and women. Women were given a tough, honorable, attractive man to dream of and men were given a rugged, tough, violent action hero. The western shows, ran by Buffalo Bill, gave the same opportunities to the audience except they were live action! These shows spread the great image of the cowboy all around America.