Dig It - 3/19/26
Hey Fellow Seekers, I used to call painted drums "poor man’s shields” since they are one of the few areas of Native American art that have painted imagery like shields do but cost a fraction of the price. This shield has the image of a turtle. What makes this turtle quite special is that the center of its back is a snake. The green snake divides the shell into yellow and red halves. Now, amongst many cultures, including Native Americans, the turtle’s shell represents the surface of the world emerging from the primordial muck and water. This turtle is surrounded by bands of color likely representing rainbows, which are often believed to encircle the world.
This is a tambourine, or one-sided drum. It is late 19th century, and I believe it was made by one of the Western Woodlands or Eastern Plains tribes. The turtle indicates the painter was familiar with some form of water, a river or a lake. Many Native Americans claim that there is no word for art in their languages, but that did not stop them from making it! -Lonesome