Sephora Vandale practising the water song. Vandale, along with a group of students, made the drums they used for their first performance at the Crestwood School annual Spring Tea.--PHOTO COURTESY OF MEDICINE HAT PUBLIC SCHOOL DIVISION
reporter@medicinehatnews.com
During the annual Spring Tea at Crestwood School, a group of students went on stage to preform a water song on drums they made themselves.
“Within our division, we have a great co-ordinator (Shirley Boomer) for our First Nations, Metis and Inuit supports,” said principal Richelle Thomas. “One of the pieces they did recently was make their own drums. Shirley and some community members came in with the parents and students. This has been a series of a month and a half to two months in the making.”
Once the drums were complete, the students all participated in a smudging ceremony. Given they only had three rehearsals over a two-week period before their first performance at the tea, the students did very well.
Grade 4 student Sephora Vandale said, “My auntie is Metis and she kept saying she wants me to be a drummer. In school, I somehow got into drumming. When I told her, she was shocked. Then she told me I was going to be good at it.”
Learning new songs is what Vandale likes best about drumming. After the hides are soaked, stretched and cured, Vandale explained how the drum is made.
“You get a hide and lay it down, get a type of wood that is smooth. Then what you have to do is put those together. Stretch some ropes and then tie them onto the elk skin. That’s how you make your drum.”
Vandale was nervous getting up in front of everyone for the first performance of the drumming group but said some of it went away once they started playing. She thought the process was interesting and was relieved their first performance was successful.
The Crestwood School drumming group is one aspect of Medicine Hat Public School Division’s commitment to Truth and Reconciliation.
“I think we’ve tried to be as mindful as we can in every facet of our school in how we can weave the culture piece into our community,” said Thomas. “Knowing we were doing our Spring Tea and making sure we were honouring the histories and bringing that forward, helping to educate all of us in that path for reconciliation.”
