Steve Teekens is a traditional drummer. He was taken to a powwow at around the age of 13 or 14 where he was first exposed to traditional drumming. He described his curiosity as being drawn in like a magnet, like he could feel the sound. He was extremely shy so he only spectated. His first experience with drumming came to him in college. He asked a group of drummers if he could take part in drumming with them, and they agreed as long as he only drummed on the side of the drum. However, he took a chance and started drumming in the middle. He was off beat and messed up the song. The drummers were annoyed and he never tried again for 4 years. He moved to Toronto where he worked with Native youth. He was asked to supervise drumming and he agreed. He sat at the drum with the youth and felt something inside him change and he was moved. He…show more content… Taking a piece of rawhide he stretched it over the frame and repaired it. This is where he learned that he enjoyed fixing drums and began to wonder what it would be like to create drums himself. He began to do this and hosted workshops all over Ontario where he taught others to do the same. He describes the process as a labour of love, despite it making him sore. He then moves on to describe the entire process to creating drums. He talks about the four circles around the drum. The first circle is comprised of four men singing in harmony with one voice. The second circle is made up of women, standing behind the men and singing slightly after the men and in a higher pitch. The third circle is dancers who dance to celebrate life. Finally the fourth circle is the spirits who are happy because the culture and spiritual ways are still being done in ceremonies, songs and dances. He talks about the 7 grandfather teachings which are love, respect, humility, wisdom, bravery, honesty, and truth. He states that they all have a place around the
