When the Indigenous people were created and given a number of days to walk upon the Earth, we were given Four Sacred Gifts that were to allow us to return thanks back to the Creator and to show respect to the Created Order for all good things that are given to us unconditionally each and every day.

The first gift that was given to us was the instrument that sounds from the time we are conceived inside our mothers body until we are born to the world. Our Elders tell us this was the drum. The heartbeat of all of life. To the Mohawk, this is the little Iroquois Water drum. That drum was to be kept sacred and only good clean things were to come in contact with it. Each and every time it was sounded, thanksgiving was to be done first, to give thanks back for all the teachings the drum gives to us about living a good healthy life. We were taught we never beat this drum but carefully sound it with a sounding stick or drumstick.

The second gift given to us was the human voice. We were given the ability to offer words of thanksgiving and goodness as well as to sing songs that honor the Creator and all of the Created order. Parents expecting a baby were always encouraged to speak in their native language to the baby and also sing to it from the time of conception until the baby was born. In this manner the baby was already learning to connect the sound of the drum (his/her mom's heart) with the sound of the voice (listening to mom and dad sing to it and speak to it while it was still in the womb).

The third gift was the gift of the Rattle. Almost every baby born is given a rattle as soon as it learns to grab. This was done to keep the baby connected to the spirit world and to the forces at work in creation that bring cleansing and newness. In our songs as Iroquois people when we sing with the Water Drum we also sound cow horn rattles to show respect and honor for these forces that give life to life itself.

The last gift was one of the most profound gifts, for this gift had the ability to heal a person's thinking and mind, emotions, body  and spirit. This was the gift of the Flute. Our Elders teach that if  this instrument is used by a player with his mind, body, emotions, and spirit in the right place, the player would have the power to even raise the dead back to life. For this reason there were many teachings as to who should play the flute, when it should be played and what songs should be played, etc. This instrument also taught the importance of recognizing the female energies at work here on the earth. Thus some flutes were used as courting flutes, by young men looking for a wife.

It is rare to find a person who follows these teachings and not only carries all four instruments, but is actively working at living the lifestyle required to "carry" these instruments in an appropriate and healthy manner. It is definitely a calling that many may feel called to follow, but in my experience, few come close to achieving. Yet we are all encouraged to "do as good as you can do". Those are my thoughts. Etho niiotonhake ne sahnikonrah. May it always be that way in our thoughts.