All-Women Drum Group Sings Native American Pow-Wow Music Story-Date: 09:26 a.m. PST Sunday , November 30, 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------ All-Women Drum Group Sings Native American Pow-Wow Music By Kevin F. Peniska,m Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News REDDING, Calif.--Dec. 1--The Mankillers, an all-women drum group from Redding, Calif., sings northern-style American Indian pow wow music. The women sing and drum in the same style as men's drum groups, dividing up the leads, chorus and calls or whoops among each other. "We have all sang in co-ed drum groups," says group member and manager Irma Amaro-Davis, Yaqui. "There we learned about the mechanics of traditional singing, when women singers are supposed to come in on the chorus and all that. When we formed our group, we just assigned the different male roles to the woman whose voice could handle the part." "When we first started in 1992, half of the women we invited to join our group declined because of the pressure of being in an all women drum group," remembers Amaro-Davis. "There aren't many all women drums in the U.S. Some emcees pass us over when it's our turn to sing at pow-wows. Some dancers will refuse to dance because we are women." Amaro-Davis insists part of the conflict goes beyond the post-modern war between the sexes. "Some tribes do have taboos against women singing at the drum," said Ms. Amaro-Davis. "We respect other peoples' traditions. We won't go where it is not seen as proper for us to sing. We only go where we are invited." The ten women who decided to risk the pressures of being in one of the few all women drum groups have now been signed to Native-owned and operated record label, Without Rez Productions. Their debut recording is now available on compact disc as of Sept. The group defines their role as women in a traditional sense, which makes them uneasy with some reactions and perceptions of the group. "People make assumptions because of our name -- The Mankillers. We are introduced as feminists, thought to be lesbians, or called promiscuous," said Ms. Amaro-Davis. "But we are not man-haters. Those of us who are of age are mostly married and we honor our husbands, sons, fathers and brothers. The name was just too good to resist." As native women, all group members contribute to their community, tribal ceremonies and extended family obligations. The Mankillers also require group members to keep their personal life in order. "We honor the drum by keeping our lives respectable," said Maggie Escobedo-Steele, Chiricahua Apache. "We don't sleep around, drink, do drugs or stay in abusive relationships. To do any of these things would not only dishonor ourselves, it would dishonor the drum, which is sacred to all Native people." The women range in age from 15 to 39. Due to the increase in intertribal marriages over the past 100 years, the women represent 13 different American Indian tribes from all over the U.S. including Karuk, Yurok, Yaqui, Taos Pueblo, Rarumari, Paiute, Shoshone, Creek, Seminole, Chickamauga, Jemez Pueblo, Yankton Sioux and Chiricahua Apache. While each tribe has different standards, rules, taboos and practices regarding feminine reproductive powers, all tribes ask women to respect their bodies and the power of menstruation. "As an all-woman drum, we must be aware of many things," explains Ms. Escobedo-Steele. "We must always protect ourselves, the dancers and follow our personal tribal traditions about woman power. If we didn't do that, we could make the dancers, other people or even ourselves very sick. We are very careful." Still, once in a while, some men might scold us and tell us they think we're being irresponsible with our female powers by singing at a drum in public," said Ms.Escobedo-Steele. "But you know, traditionally, it is not a man's place to tell a woman how to protect or use a woman's power. Traditionally, that is a woman's responsibility and it is really none of their business." Some people even insist no Native woman of any tribe ever sang at a drum before. "I find that difficult to believe considering the vast diversity of tribes, cultures and traditions across North America," said Amy Echo-Hawk, Yakama/Pawnee, owner of Without Rez Productions. "There were over 300 tribes and bands in Washington and Oregon alone, imagine how many different cultures there were across all of North America. At least one tribe probably had a tradition of an all-woman drum." The Mankillers have talked extensively with sister drum, The Red Woman Drum Society Singers from Minn. "One of the women from the group showed me a print of a drawing by a Jesuit priest," said Ms. Escobedo-Steele, who also drew the cover art for their recording. "It was over 100 years old and depicted an all-woman drum group singing. Who knows how long women have sang at the drum, in some tribes at least." Whether the Mankillers recording revives an almost lost ancient Native tradition or spurs a more recent trend, the group hopes all other women drums will follow in their footsteps. "Since we started over five years ago, I have seen several all women drums start. Only time will tell if they survive, but I wish them the perseverance to continue," said Ms. Escobedo-Steele. The Mankillers recording contains ten traditional Northern style songs in various Native languages and in English. The high quality sound and original compositions on the separate this release from earlier recordings of all-women drums. The Mankillers is available on compact disc from Without Rez Productions. For music or booking information call 916-251-0336. ----- Visit Indian Country Today on the World Wide Web at http://www.indiancountry.com/ ----- (c) 1997, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News. ------------------------------------------------------------