Local drummer begins group partnering with Saulteau First Nation

CHETWYND, B.C. — A Chetwynd resident with Indigenous roots wants everyone to hear the sound and feel the story behind hand drums.

Nathan Scott is a First Nations drummer who has aligned with Saulteau First Nations (SFN) in building a drumming group in Chetwynd. 

SFN has offered its mental wellness department’s boardroom space for sessions for Scott’s group, which began in late April.

Scott is also an artist, having done chainsaw carvings, with his sawwork earning him an invitation to Powell River’s Logger Sports festival this July, as well as extensive knowledge of traditional medicine and ceremonial teaching workshops.

Scott has also held a youth drum group in Dawson Creek at the Nawican Friendship Centre.

He will hold sessions throughout May for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents to come and learn.

“[SFN] offered their boardroom space for me to host my drum group there,” Scott told Energeticcity.ca. “I just took the initiative upon myself to want to create this in our community.”

In Indigenous culture, the drum represents the literal heartbeat of Mother Earth. According to Indigenous Tourism BC’s website, circular drums are made by stretching animal hide over a frame small enough to fit inside a child’s hand.

“Drums are our connection to Mother Earth,” explained Scott. “[It is] the heartbeat of our nation, the heartbeat of our people [and] we connect to that. We remember those teachings and those feelings of when we were in our womb with our mother.”

“It brings us back to that point of safety within our spirit, and allows us to heal. It allows us to connect to the creator and to other spirits, and that’s how we perform our ceremony.”

With ancestral roots going back to northern Saskatchewan, Scott remembers being raised by his grandmother without his birth parents, adopting the healer in his home territory to be a surrogate father.

“He taught me about the sweat lodge,” Scott remembered. “He taught me about the Oskapewis (ceremonial helper) and to perform these different ceremonies. He gifted me with my first drum when I was very young.”

Scott said he “lost his way” falling into substance issues as he got older. Having committed to achieving sobriety in 2021, he rediscovered his roots – including his first drum, which he describes as his “protector.”

While his drum group in Chetwynd has just started, Scott said the group had its first performance at a school in Dawson Creek the following day.

“It’s really just coming together right now,” said Scott. “I’m putting some feelers out to the community to see if there’s really any interest in people wanting to be able to take back these teachings.”

The next meeting for the drum group will be on Thursday, May 14th at 5016 50th Avenue in Chetwynd. Drums will be provided, and no experience is required.

For more information, contact Scott at 250-556-4539 or Kylie Lynn Davis of SFN’s wellness department at 250-875-1072 or by email at kdavis@saulteau.com.