We Belong to the Drum / mistikwaskihk kitipêyimikonaw

The drum represents the heartbeat of Mother Earth. We all belong to the earth and we all belong to the drum.

Nikosis grew up going to powwows with his family, happily immersed in music, dance and the sounds of the drum. But when he starts going to daycare, he doesn’t feel like he belongs. Nikosis cries every time his mother leaves him in the unfamiliar environment until, one day, she and the teachers use drums to help Nikosis find connection and comfort.

Inspired by her son’s experience—and her family's love of powwow music and dance—Indigenous educator and champion hoop dancer Sandra Lamouche shares this uplifting true story of the transformative effects of culturally safe and inclusive early childhood education.

This bilingual book includes full text in both English and Plains Cree.

Sandra Lamouche is a Nehiyaw Iskwew (Cree woman) from the Bigstone Cree Nation in northern Alberta. She is a wife, mother of two boys with braids, champion women’s hoop dancer, award-winning educator and two-time TEDx speaker. She has a bachelor of arts in Native American studies and is currently completing a thesis on Indigenous dance as a determinant of well-being. Sandra and her family live in Blackfoot Territory (Treaty 7), the heart of powwow country in southern Alberta.

Azby Whitecalf is a Plains Cree character designer and illustrator based out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Treaty 6 Territory. They have a bachelor's degree in visual communication (character design) from the Alberta University of the Arts. An important part of their practice is creating accurate and positive representations of Indigenous Peoples and cultures and exploring what it is to portray Indigenous people in a way that captures their multidimensional identities. They are the illustrator of Buffalo Wild! Azby enjoys working with bright colors, strong contrast and fun shapes.

As a first-language speaker of Plains Cree (nêhiyawêwin), translator Dolores Greyeyes Sand has devoted her career to teaching and promoting Cree language and cultural literacy at every opportunity, proudly following the path laid by her late mother, Dr. Freda Ahenakew, CM, SOM.