Makah Cultural Journeys 2014: Drum Key Chains

One of the most exciting experiences that we have had is learning how to make traditional crafts from artists in the community. All the traditional arts and crafts that we made in the past few days put together can hold a small exhibition. Comparing to the memory of making my clumsy fingers shuttle back and forth in the woods of cedars, the process of making drum key chains is like one of the open areas in the thick coastal forest of Ozette, giving me a chance to take a deep breath.

The drum head is made of deer hide. Each of us also got a piece of PVC pipe either larger or small, a key chain, either round or eight-figure, sinew, suede, Olivella shells, and a variety of beads. We punched small holes around the edge of deer hide, sewed it with sinew, and made a cross tie on one side of the pipe. Then Vicky, our teacher and a professional drum maker, drilled two holes on the pipe, one on top and one on bottom. We then strung all our beads, key chain, and shells together with suede, made ties at the end to secure the beads, and a nice drum key chain was done.