Students at K’atllodeeche First Nation’s (KFN) Chief Sunrise Education Centre recently got a lesson in traditional drum-making — and drumming’s significance in Dene Culture — thanks to Elder Roy Fabian.
Fabian has been making traditional Dene drums since the 1980s, and began to dedicate more time to the craft when he retired in 2018. His drum-making workshop ran from April 15 to 19 at the school. Seven students and two adults took part, and by the time it was over, the group had made nine traditional drums — three small ones, and six larger ones.
Making each drum was a long and delicate process.
Under Fabian’s watchful eye, the group began by soaking the deer hides they used in place of the traditional caribou hide, which is “tough to get these days.” When the hides had soaked for about a day, the group “scraped them down” to make them “a little bit thinner,” and stretched them out over the frame of the drum, which is called a shell. They then drilled holes through the shell and laced the hide into place, and later, added “rattle strings” that enhance the sound of the drum, and handles that make the drums easier to play.
Drums are “really important” in Dene culture, according to Fabian, with uses in “ceremony, celebration, and healing.”
“[Dene] believe that the Creator put everything on this land for us already — our needs are fulfilled completely,” he said. “We give thanks to the creator for everything with water ceremonies, fire ceremonies, earth ceremonies, hunting ceremonies, harvesting ceremonies. Everything is about giving thanks to the Creator. That’s what the ceremonies are for, and we us the drums in that way.
“We also use the drums for celebrations, like drum dances, and in hand games. Today, we play [hand games] as a sport, but one time, the Dene men used the hand games as a healing a process, and the drums were used as part of our healing process.
“That’s why I make the drums — so we can try to keep ceremony and celebration and healing alive for Dene people, and so we can maintain our beliefs and our knowledge and our values and skills.”
Some of the students that attended Fabian’s drum-making workshop were quite young, but Fabian patiently shared his wisdom with the group over the five days they spent together, and is confident all of the participants appreciated the significance of what they were hearing.
“During the workshop, I talk about everything while we’re working,” he said. “We talked about the culture — I explained it through the five days of the workshop.
“Those little kids, sometimes they get distracted and they play around, but they still hear, they still listen,” he added. “They understand that this is about being Dene.”
To see the young people in attendance absorbing and appreciating their Dene culture was a moving experience for the Elder.
“I see the little children participating in the culture, and I feel a lot of love for them,” he said. “I try to be kind and respectful and show them that I care about them. To me, that’s what pride is. Pride is about love, kindness, respect and care. That pride is something that’s alive still, and we’ve got to be keep it alive. We’ve got to be proud of who we are.”