The Drum Comes to the Anishinaabe
By
Allan Crow

This is the story of how the drum came into the lives of the Anishinaabe people.

The story has been passed on from father to son throughout the ages.

The story of the drum goes way back in time, a time when only the Anishinaabe were the only people roaming this land.

It was a time when the drum was not yet a part of life in the Anishinaabe culture.

In that time the people were rich and happy.  Everything they needed for their daily lives were growing around them, in abundance.

There were plenty of fish in the streams and rivers; and the endless forests were teeming with animals they used for food and clothing.

 The people taught their children well in the ways of survival.  They also taught the children to respect and love each other. 

The people cured and tanned the hides that were taken from the food animals, to be used for clothing and blankets.

One of the important teachings of the Anishinaabe is that is everything taken from the earth is not to be wasted.

The children learned well.  They took part in the work of their parents.

In the spring, the people collected wild berries from the meadows and forests.

Towards the autumn was when the wild rice was ready to be harvested from the lakes and rivers.

The men in the villages formed hunting and fishing parties to collect meat.
While some were busy collecting food, others were busy preparing the food to be stored for the long and cold winter.

The children were happy.   The community's main concern was for the
well-being of their families and the children.

The most important thing was for the survival of the young, and the next generations to come.

One spring when the people were just returning from the wintering grounds, they noticed that the flowers were late in blooming.  

Every spring when the people returned to the summer hunting grounds, they checked to see the spring blooms.   For these spring flowers would be turning into wild blueberries.

The other wild foods that grew in the forests were also late in coming.

The people waited and still there was nothing growing anywhere.  

The fish in the streams and rivers were also gone, as well as the animals in the forests.

The people were puzzled, and scared.  Nothing like this had ever happened to them before.

The birds also were late in returning from their southern feeding grounds.

What would the people do to get food?  The storage bins that had food left from the winter were getting empty.

Soon the people would be hungry.  

The people were getting sick from hunger as it neared to the wild rice harvesting season.  But the wild rice also did not come.

The old people would be the first to die; and then the little children until there was no one left.

There was crying and despair in the village.

Runners were sent to other Native villages to seek help.  But it was the same everywhere; there was no food to be found.

The children were bewildered, why was there no food?

The Chief's own children were crying, and hungry when they went to sleep in the nights.

What could he do to save his people?

One night as the man lay there feeling sad, and worried for his children and the people, he heard something in the distance.

He asked his wife if she heard it too.  His wife said ‘no' and told him to try and get some sleep.

Again the next night he heard the same sounds coming from the distance.  It sounded as if someone was pounding on something.

For four nights he heard the sounds.  On the morning of the fourth night, the man told his wife he would be going to see what those sounds were.

Men and women took to the forests everyday looking for food.  Everyday it was the same; no food, just misery.

The Chief walked all day in the direction of where he heard the sounds coming from.

It was late in the day, just before sundown, when he saw a teepee in a clearing.

As he went nearer, he saw it was a great big teepee.  He stopped to have a better look at the huge teepee.

As he stood there looking at the big teepee, a voice from inside said, "Come in grandchild, come in.  We have been waiting for you!"

Going inside he saw four big men sitting around a circular object.

The men started banging sticks on the object and began to sing.

This is what the man heard in the nights he couldn't sleep worrying about his people.

The Chief could not sit still as the men sang.  He was bouncing up and down.

When the men stopped, one said, "Touch our grandchild so he will sit still when we are singing."

One of the big men came over to the man and touched him.

The Chief sat still when the singing started again.

When it was dark outside, the men turned to the Chief and fed him.  They told him they knew what was happening to his people, and they knew why that was happening.

One of the big men began to speak, "You see this circular object we are hitting, it is a drum.  This is why your people are hungry, because you do not have a drum in your lives.  Once you have a drum, it will bring life to the Anishinaabe.  The drum will show you how to make feasts to honor the food that is given to you by the Creator.  The drum will make your people dance and be happy.  The Creator loves to see HIS people being happy.  The Creator will be there dancing with the people wherever and whenever the drum is heard.  

We will give you food to bring back to your people.  Once you make the drum, everything will return as it was.  The Anishinaabeg will never be hungry again."

The big men took some blueberries, wild rice, and meat and put it into a leather pouch.  They gave it to the man to bring for his people.

"From this, you will learn how we make the food last when you do the feasts," they said.

The man hurried home to tell his people what he had seen.

It was daytime when he got home.  The people could barely move as they saw him coming.  His wife and children came out when they heard the villagers calling his name.

"I have food!" the Chief said to the people, "I have food!"

As he set the little pouch of onto the ground, it turned into great amounts of food.  There was food of wild berries and meat everywhere.

The people hurried to feed the elders who were close to dying.  Everyone ate.  Messengers were sent to the other villages to bring the people and get food.   The children were the first to get strong and well.  They helped the old people to get well too.

In time, as the village was getting back to normal, the Chief told his people of the Manitoos he had encountered.  He told the people of what he had learned from the Manitoos, and of the drum they have to make.

The elders in the village said all of the Anishinaabe in the land had to hear the story.  They too must hear how the grandfathers came to help them in their time of need.  This was very important for the survival of the future generations.

The chief sent messengers and runners to go throughout the land and inform the people of the gathering to be taking place in their village.

Soon the people came to listen to the sound of the drum.  It was a beautiful drum.  The men in the village hit the drum and began to sing.  Everyone got up and danced to the drum, the drum that had saved their lives.  

When they finished, an elder got up to speak.  "This is a drum," the elder said proudly, "It is a gift from the Creator.  The drum will show us the way.  For as long as the drum is heard, we, the Anishinaabeg, will survive; the children of Mother Earth will prosper and be happy."

This is how the drum was born; it was passed on to the Anishinaabeg from the Creator; Giizhe'atisisit Manitoo.