Circa 1860s Lakota Square Head Drum.

UNKNOWN

Publication: Drum Maker is unknown to us, n d (ca 1860s), N P

This is a Lakota Square Head Drum that was made in the 1860s. It measures 11 1/2" x 12 1/2" x 3" and is made from hide, wood, and paint pigment. It is painted on two sides with one side completely painted in red, yellow, and blue and the other side painted in red and with a large black hand painted in the center.

A rare, traditional Plains Indian single- or double-sided frame drum featuring a square wooden frame with rawhide stretched and laced across it. Historical examples, such as those from the late 19th century associated with Lakota and Assiniboine makers, were often hand-painted with powerful symbolic imagery like sacred faces, buffalo horns, or thunderbirds.

This drum is attributed to the Assiniboine or Yanktonai Lakota. Following the 1862 Minnesota conflict known as the Dakota War, the Yanktonai made treaties with the United States. Many of those called Lower Yanktonai settled at Fort Peck, home today to the Assiniboine and Sioux. Those called Upper Yanktonai settled mostly at Standing Rock Reservation, where Sitting Bull and his people also lived.

In Indigenous traditions drums are considered sacred, living beings rather than mere instruments. Their rhythmic beat represents the "heartbeat of Mother Earth" and the pulse heard in the womb. The "Voice" in ceremonial opens the throat to move energy through the entire body, to the level of spirit. Among the Lakota people the drum occupies a position of great cultural and symbolic power. Regarded as a living entity, the drum is viewed simultaneously as a spiritual guardian and a musical instrument, a living tradition and a reference to a past way of life. Hand drum symbolism connects directly to the circle of life, animal sacrifice, and spiritual visions.

Painted hands on drum-heads carry deep significance as protective symbols, tokens of healing, and pathways to the spirit world. Hand-prints often represent the therapeutic and restorative powers originating from the Creator or a tribal medicine person. In Yanktonai and broader Lakota traditions, a black hand symbol painted on a drum typically signifies success in hand-to-hand combat, serving as a mark of great honor, bravery, and martial achievement for a warrior. The mark of a blackened palm or hand-print was used to indicate that the owner had directly engaged and overcome an enemy in battle.

Anthropological records note that impressions of black hands on ceremonial or personal objects (such as shields and drums) were sometimes recorded as a symbol of "death" or a "captive taken" during tribal conflicts. Many Yanktonai drums (like those famously created by the holy man Siyosapa feature powerful natural and spirit figures, with the black hand acting as an identifier of the warrior's or healer's sacred duty to their community. Because the drum is considered a living entity and a direct connection to the heartbeat of the Earth, the symbols painted on it reflect the deeply personal, spiritual, or historical legacy of the drummer. In Lakota and Yanktonai Dakota traditions, the painted hand—often seen on drums and other sacred items—symbolizes the Creator, a connection to the spirit world, or a sacred vow.

Light overall wear to the drum else very good and attractive.