Working with Shamanic Drums

As a drum circle facilitator, I get asked a lot about how to work with shamanic drums. Drums are an essential part of shamanic work; we use them for journeying, healing and celebration, both for ourselves and for the community. Additionally, the shamanic techniques of extraction, soul retrieval and divination can all be performed with the drum. Yet many people I meet who acquire a drum say they want to work with it but they are not sure how to.
 

Before shamanizing with a drum, sit and meditate with the instrument for a few minutes. By quieting the mind, you will be able to connect with the spirit of the drum. When you feel ready, pick up your drumstick and grip it with the thumb at the side and the fingers curled underneath. Hold the stick with a tight, relaxed grip and start playing at the rhythm the spirits direct you to use. Remember to "stroke" the drum, rather than "beat" it. Never vent your frustrations by pounding on a drum. One should always "drum the beat," rather than "beat the drum."
 

Always begin a drumming session by softly stroking the drum, and then gradually increase the intensity of your playing. It is not necessary to hammer the drum to bring out its unique voice and resonance. It is best to stroke the drum firmly, producing ringing tones and overtones. Use short strokes with a minimal amount of motion to pull the sound out of the drum. Keep your arms and shoulders relaxed, breathing slowly and deeply as you play. By playing the drum in this manner, you will have greater precision and endurance.
 

When a stick hits a drumhead, it rebounds in the opposite direction. The drummer who plays with too much tension, or hammers the stick into the drum, will find that the direction of the stick continues to move downward contrary to the upward push of the rebound. Rather than bouncing off the head, the stick is forced into the head by a hand still pushing down on the stick after it should have changed direction. The result is a loss of speed, control and clean, distinct strokes.
 

The less tension there is in the muscles of the arms and hands, the easier it is to respond to the bounce off the head. Moreover, by incorporating the energy coming off the drumhead into the upstroke, the drummer's playing will become quicker, more fluid and relaxed. That way the energy circulates, comes back and you can use it again. The key is to focus your energy to that point on the drumhead's surface that you are striking, not beyond it. Transfer your energy and intention into the drum, using a smooth, relaxed stroke. With practice, you learn just how much energy to send out to achieve a desired result and how much to retain so that you don't tire.
 

Move the drumstick around the head of the drum as you play, allowing the various tones and overtones to resonate through you. You will find the higher tones around the outer edges of the drumhead and the deeper sounds toward the center of the drum. If you can, find the sweet spot--that place where the drum begins to hum and sing. The drum has to sing in order to reach its full potential for healing and empowerment.
 

When playing a drum, life force energy flows between the drumhead and the drumstick. With practice, you should be able to feel this subtle force pushing and pulling on the stick. Allow this force to guide your drumming in order to draw out what is already within the drum. Shamanic drumming is about transposing already existing harmonics into sound by stroking them from the drum.

Native American Vows to Decolonize Native Burials

Robert Gill of Buffalo, Minnesota is a member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate tribe and among only a few Native American morticians in the country. A hero to many tribal members, Gill has made it his life's mission to restore Native burial customs and to "decolonize," as he calls it, the process of honoring and burying those who die on Indian reservations. Since the arrival of the pandemic, death has become an all-encompassing specter of Gill's daily life, consuming his days and even his nights. He travels hundreds of miles each week to remote tribal communities as far west as the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana and as far north as the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation near the Canadian border. 

 

Before the pandemic, Gill arranged three to four burials a month for Native families. Now he is receiving that many funeral requests every week. Even with a punishing work schedule, he sometimes struggles with guilt over his inability to meet the surging demand for traditional burial services. He knows that many tribal families are being left with no choice but to turn to white-owned funeral homes with morticians who do not understand their language and customs. Without ceremonies rooted in their culture, Gill argues, tribal members are disconnected from their history and unable to mourn properly.
 

The dearth of funeral options, some tribal leaders argue, is a legacy of America's dark history of racial subjugation of American Indians and their religious practices. Until 1978, when Congress passed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, spiritual ceremonies like the sweat lodge and drum dances were still technically illegal. The prohibitions enabled Christian churches to establish deep footholds on reservations and further restrict Indigenous customs--including their ceremonies for honoring the deceased.
 

Determined to bring more dignity to the burial process, Gill enrolled in the Worsham College of Mortuary Science in Chicago, where he graduated in 2012. He is believed to be the only licensed mortician of Dakota heritage in the country. Today Gill is virtually alone in the funeral business for his willingness to make long-distance house visits--sometimes driving entire days, through sleet and snow, to meet with tribal families in their homes. Each visit carries the risk that he will contract the virus still raging through Indian Country. Gill is the only one of five morticians who work at Chilson Funeral Chapel in central Minnesota who has not been sickened by COVID-19.
 

"You've got to have nerves of steel to do this work in a pandemic," Gill said.

 

A version of this article first appeared in the "Minneapolis Star Tribune."

New Ayahuasca Documentary: "The Medicine"

A recent documentary feature, "The Medicine," reveals the hidden mysteries of one of nature's most powerful and controversial healing remedies -- Ayahuasca. It is a documentary about Amazonian shamanism, introducing Taita ("shaman") Juanito Guerillmo Chindoy Chindoy, both a teacher and student of the sacred plant medicine. As Ayahuasca gains popularity in the West, the film explores the science as well as the lore behind the plant and why it is used to heal. Use of the Ayahuasca brew is both a tradition in Amazonian shamanism and a promising new focus of mental health research.
 

The film follows former NFL Safety, Kerry Rhodes (NY Jets, AZ Cardinals), and actress, AnnaLynne McCord (Power, 90210, Nip/Tuck), as they drink with the Taita experiencing Ayahuasca for the first time -- in its true tradition. Taita Juanito guides them through an authentic ceremonial practice, and they emerge with new insights about their health, their pasts, and their emotional wellbeing. "The Medicine" is narrated by actor Stuart Townsend.
 

"The Medicine" also features leading scholars and authors from around the world exploring the cultural and scientific significance of Ayahuasca, including Daniel Pinchbeck, Rachel Harris, Graham Hancock, Mauricio Diazgranados, Ph.D., and others. This ancient medicine may be a solution to modern problems of addiction, depression, trauma, and disease. The video is now streaming on digital and on-demand platforms including AppleTV, Amazon, Google Play and others. Watch the trailer.

Native Americans Welcome Shutdown of KXL Pipeline

The newly inaugurated US president has issued an executive order to cancel the Canadian pipeline project approved by his predecessor. Joe Biden has said climate change will be a big focus of his presidency. Biden's executive order reverses former President Donald Trump's revival of the pipeline. Trump in 2017 reduced regulations that would otherwise slow building projects. Former President Barack Obama rejected the pipeline in 2015 saying it would "undercut" American leadership in the fight against global climate change. The completed segment of pipeline was to cover a 1,179-mile route from the province of Alberta, Canada, to Nebraska where it would have connected with the existing pipelines leading to the coast. It would have transported up to 830,000 barrels of heavy crude oil a day. 

Montana tribal members, fearing water contamination, are relieved as the Keystone XL pipeline is blocked. When Cheyenne Foote heard that President Joe Biden blocked the Keystone XL pipeline permit on his first day in office, she cried. Foote, 68, is an elder of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, and she feared the pipeline, which passes through a portion of Montana near the Fort Peck Reservation, would contaminate the tribes' water supply. "Water is life," she said. "You can't live without water. The Creator gave it to us, and it's our job to take care of it."

Tribes in South Dakota have been opposed to and protesting the pipeline's construction for more than a decade. President of the Oglala Lakota Nation, Kevin Killer, said Wednesday night the cancellation of the pipeline permit "sends a strong message to tribal nations, and symbolizes a willingness to build on government-to-government relationships established through our treaties," referencing the 1851 and 1868 Fort Laramie treaties of the Great Sioux Nation.

Chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Harold Frazier, said the project posed a danger to tribal land and people. "This project has scarred our territorial and treaty lands with its presence and threatened our people like a dagger to our throats," Frazier wrote Wednesday night. "We have witnessed the invasion of our land and the genocide of our families -- this project is an extension of the racial, environmental and social injustices we have suffered." 

Indigenous justice organizer for the South Dakota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, Candi Brings Plenty, said Wednesday night Indigenous people have been at the forefront of the "fight for environmental justice and protection." The ACLU South Dakota intervened in a "riot boosting" bill last year. In March, Gov. Kristi Noem signed a revised version, which revived the state's criminal and civil penalties for rioting and inciting a riot. A federal judge said part of the state's laws were unconstitutional because they targeted those protesting the Keystone XL Pipeline. 

The Lakota People's Law Project said Wednesday the decision to cancel the pipeline is a "pivot point" to recognize "the health of our Earth." Rescinding KXL's permit is a promising early signal that the new administration is listening to Native American concerns and will take issues of climate and Indigenous justice seriously. We have to insist that it not stop there. It's also high time to shut down the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL). Tell president-elect Joe Biden to stop DAPL once and for all. Protect the planet and the Lakota people. No destruction of the earth. No endangering our water. Mni wiconi -- water is life. Sign the petition.