Gilcrease Museum is temporarily closed for construction.

Get the Full Story
Native American Church water drum
Unknown
Kettle drum with hide surface
Unknown

Native American Church water drum / Unknown

Curatorial Remarks

Marbles or small stones were used to tie the leather on to the drum. The earliest drums were made with commercially purchased iron cooking pots. Native American Church water drums eventually became aluminum pots, but they were originally cast iron.

Tags: Native American Church, peyotism, kettle, iron, water drum
People: Osage
Places: Southern Plains, Oklahoma
Purpose: ceremonial use, peyote meetings

From interviews with Dr. Garrick Bailey, 2018-2020 University of Tulsa, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology

You may be interested in...

Title(s): 
Native American Church water drum
Creator(s): 
Unknown
Culture: 
Native American; Osage
Date: 
20th century
Materials/Techniques: 
iron, hide (deer), stone, cotton
Classification: 
Object Type: 
Accession No: 
84.1456
Department: 
Not On View

Our Online Collections site is a work in progress. If you have information about this item that may be of assistance, please contact us.