'Teachings of the Drum' to be held every Thursday 6-8pm at St. Faith's Church, geared for seniors, with all AHS protocols in place in Edmonton.
Starting Sept. 23rd and on every Thursday after that from 6 to 8 p.m., the Creating Hope Society and St. Faith’s Church will provide a class called ‘Teachings of the Drum’. It’s made possible by funding through the government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program. The church is located at 93rd Street and 117 Avenue.
Cynthia Martel is the cultural support worker and program coordinator for Creating Hope Society.
An open invitation is going out to the community of kôkoms and mosôms or other seniors, who are welcome to join in for the weekly teachings, conversations and events focusing on drum teachings. The program is geared towards older people.
Martel says she is looking forward to the meetings as she plans to invite drums in from all different ethnic backgrounds in order to understand their teachings as well.
“So were hoping to have drummers come in as well from the African community, like the Celtics, Chinese, from around the world, from within our city, because drumming is universal so being able to listen to drums from everywhere and learn about why we drum and why drumming is a part of our nature.”
Martel says this opportunity helps with identity.
She says drumming started way before we were born, as we heard our mother’s heartbeat while we were in the womb.
“One of the things that one of the Elders was saying is that it’s the heartbeat of Mother Earth and the heartbeat is one of the first things we hear in our entire lives. We hear our mother’s heartbeat and so therefore, it is something that comes with us throughout our lives and I think it’s a great way to connect to who we are as a people.”
Martel tells us some of the goals for the program are: to provide a place to connect to learn and grow together in our culture, identity and to take pride in our Indigenous ways of life; to build a resource of Elders and knowledge keepers from the community to be able to reach out to in order to learn about how and why we drum; and most importantly to have fun.
The program will limit the number of people in attendance. All Alberta Health Services COVID-19 protocols will be in place, including masking, hand sanitizing, which will be provided, and social distancing, including proof of vaccination.
So if you’re a kôkom or a mosôm or senior, check out the program. It will run until March 2022.
Further information can be found by calling Cynthia at 587-596-9805 or check out their Facebook page at Creating Hope Society.