Exploring Drumming/Song and its Relationship to Healing in the Lives of Indigenous Women Living in the City of Winnipeg

Abstract

This is an exploratory study on drumming/song and its relationship to healing in the lives of Indigenous women living in the City of Winnipeg. The participants of this study included urban-based Indigenous women actively involved in drumming and song. An Indigenous research framework was employed using the drum as methodology in exploring and understanding Indigenous ways of knowing and being. The researcher used Indigenous searching methods (“talking circles” and the “Anishinaabe-Symbol Based Reflection” activity) to gather the women’s personal stories as they related to the topic of the study. The women identified the healing benefits of drumming/song from a holistic perspective, meaning emotional, mental, physical, and a central focus on the spiritual dimension. The outcome of the study demonstrates that Dewe-i-gan (drum) provides a holistic healing approach within the lives of the women based on Indigenous ways of seeing, understanding, and being in the world that extends beyond the mere act of drumming.