Within traditional Native American cultures the drum was the primary musical instrument. Even today, if you visit a powwow or other event hosted in a traditional Native American setting, drumming will be prominent in the festivities. While the drum was important throughout nearly all Native American tribes, how it was made, how it was played and the function of the drum varied from one society to another. Within some societies, the beat of the drum represented the heartbeat of the earth and of the people and playing the drum brought the world back into balance. When the drum first became a part of Native American societies is not known, but the drum as a part of ritual, ceremony and daily life was an integral part of traditional Native American culture.
What were Algonquin homes like in the past
Nearly every Native American tribe had its own distinctive style of dress and the people could often tell each tribe by looking at their clothes, headdresses and ornamentation. The commonly shared pieces of attire however, were; breechcloths, leather leggings, a short kilt or fur trousers, buckskin shirts, skirts and leggings for women, one piece dresses, moccasins for their feet and others.
 Wigwam in Ontario | The Algonquins didn't live in tepees. For most of the year they lived in settled villages of birchbark houses, called waginogans or wigwams. During the winter, the village split up to go to hunting camps, and each Algonquin family built a smaller cone-shaped wigwam like this for their camp, also made from birch bark. |
What was Algonquin food like in the days before supermarkets?
The Algonquins were semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers. That means they didn't do much farming, and moved around a lot as they collected food for their families. Besides fish and meat, the Algonquins gathered berries and wild plants to eat. They also traded with neighboring tribes to get corn, and made maple syrup from tree sap.
Algonquin words: animosh |  pejòshkwe |  pijakì | |
 mahìngan |  makwa |  pijiw | |
 esiban |  mikiziw |  mikinàk | |
 wàbòz | |||
Toboggan
Toboggan comes from the Algonquian word odabaggan. The toboggan is an invention of the Eastern First Peoples. Indian hunters first built toboggans made of bark to carry game over the snow. The Inuit (sometimes called Eskimos) used to make toboggans of whalebone, otherwise a toboggan is made of strips of hickory, ash, or maple, with the front ends curved back.
Moccasins
Moccasins originated with the Eastern North American tribes, traditionally referred to a shoe with a puckered u-shaped 'vamp' over the instep. The name of the Great Lakes Ojibway tribe means 'people of the puckered moccasin'. The southern New England Narragansett word for shoe is 'Mocussinass' or 'Mockussinchass'.
A totem can be the symbol of a tribe, clan, family or individual. Native American tradition provides that each individual is connected with nine different animals that will accompany each person through life, acting as guides. Different animal guides come in and out of our lives depending on the direction that we are headed and the tasks that need to be completed along our journey.
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