Guests at Sir George Simpson might have heard – and possibly felt – the heartbeat of Mother Earth in recent months.
That’s the doing of the Sir George Simpson Powwow Singers and Drummers, who since last spring have been shaking the earth with First Nations drum songs at schools throughout St. Albert. The group is the only school-based First Nations drumming circle in St. Albert.
Principal Pierre Rousseau said he got the idea to start the group a few years ago after the school hosted a drum group for National Aboriginal Day. Knowing there were a fair number of Indigenous students at Simpson who needed to reconnect with their culture, and wanting to work on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s recommendations, he asked parent and drummer Ryan Arcand if he could teach his art at the school.
Arcand said he’s been singing and drumming ever since he was a boy growing up in Alexander First Nation. Teaching this group helps him remember the songs and traditions he learned from his elders.
“It helps me pass on not only to my sons but to other boys those songs and those teachings," he said.
The group is an in-school club that meets for an hour most Mondays and Wednesdays and is backed by a $2,400 grant from the Edmonton Community Foundation. There about six members, many of whom have Indigenous ancestry. They’ve got their own team shirts, and have performed at several St. Albert schools.
While the group currently plays using one big drum built by Arcand, Arcand said he planned to introduce the students to smaller hand drums later this month.
Group member Aidan Marsh said he joined the group when Arcand approached him last spring because he wanted to learn something new, and that he couldn’t wait to give those hand drums a shot.
“It’s fun to meet new people and be able to sing with them, and learn new cultures and new words,” he said of the group.
Arcand starts each lesson by smudging the drum and the players with sweetgrass smoke. The players then sit around the drum and practice songs, with Arcand giving tips on their technique. He’ll also write the lyrics for the songs on a whiteboard in Cree and English so the students can belt them out along with him.
Arcand said players must also master many moral lessons if they wish to play the drum, such as patience, respect, teamwork, honour, compassion and love.
“There’s no racism, there’s no disrespect, there’s no ‘I’m better than you,’ ” he said – around the drum, everyone is equal, and the multicultural nature of this group is a testament to that.
“They see the drum, they see the stick, and they hear the beat. Everything else is secondary.”
Rousseau said the group’s music is loud enough to be heard in nearby classrooms and sometimes shakes the walls of his office. That music has given Indigenous culture a greater presence in the school and has helped some students take more pride in their roots.
Arcand said anyone can learn to play a drum song if they commit to it. There aren’t many public St. Albert drum circles, but Edmonton has several.
“The beat flows through you already,” he said – you can feel it if you put your hand on your heart.
“It’s in each and every human being.”
Rousseau said the group’s next big show is this March 8 at the University of Alberta’s Campus Saint-Jean.
