Invitation to Create a Gathering Drum

To continue our celebration of Native American Heritage Month, we read Powwow Day by Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation) and illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight (Chickasaw Nation). This heartwarming contemporary picture book honors tradition, community, music, and healing—all shared through the voices of Indigenous creators.

In the story, Powwow Day has arrived, and River longs to dance as she does every year. But this year is different—she’s recovering from a serious illness and must sit out. Through River’s experience, the book gently explores what it feels like to be on the outside looking in, and how the strength of community can help lift, heal, and reconnect us. It also offers young readers a meaningful introduction to powwows—their history, their purpose, and their importance across Native communities in the United States and Canada. Powwows are gatherings where everyone, both Native and non-Native visitors, is welcomed with respect and intention.

Inspired by the story, we invited the children to create a collaborative gathering drum through open-ended process art. On a tinker tray we arranged feathers, pom poms, tissue paper, sticker shapes, craft sticks, washi tape, glue, and cutouts repurposed from our earlier We Are the Water Protectors art invitation. The drum structure itself was made from a recycled wooden spool, wrapped with reclaimed cardboard and covered in butcher paper. The children were invited to explore, create, and contribute freely together as a community.

Each child added their own touches, layering materials, textures, and colors. Their individual expressions came together to form a single, beautiful collaborative gathering drum—a symbol of shared creativity, community, and the joy of making something meaningful together.