Native American crafts for kids are a great way to learn about the history, customs, and lives of the indigenous people of North America. Also, you’ll love my page Native Americans The Plains Indians Unit Study & Lapbook.
One item that was important to tribes across the US was drums.
Drums were used for music and dancing.
However, they were also part of rituals, celebrations, and spiritual communication.
Drums were made from wooden frames or hollowed-out logs.
Then they covered them in animal hide or skin stretched tightly over the frame with sinew.
Too, drums were then personalized by painting them using berries, red rocks, and other natural items to create a dye.
The images on their drums were reflections of the individual or the tribe.
Several different drums were used by various tribes- water drums, Pow Wow drums, foot drums, and hand drums like the spin drum we are going to create today.
A spin drum is a hand-held drum mounted on a stick and has striker beads that hit the drum surface as they are played.
Make your own with items that you have on hand.
It’s a great reuse for cardboard boxes you might have lying around, and a fun instrument for kids.
Books about Native Americans
First, you’ll love adding some of these books about Native Americans to your reading day.
16 Books About Native Americans
You’ll love these books about various Native American tribes and how they lived and their rich history.
Saxso is fourteen when the British attack his village. It’s 1759, and war is raging in the northeast between the British and the French, with the Abenaki people Saxso’s people by their side. Without enough warriors
to defend their homes, Saxso’s village is burned to the ground. Many people are killed, but some, including Saxso’s mother and two sisters, are taken hostage. Now it’s up to Saxso, on his own, to track the raiders and bring his family back home . . . before it’s too late.
In Their Own Words: Sitting Bull tells the exciting story of Sitting Bull's life using real drawings, letters, and speeches from him and from his friends and family.A warrior I have been. / Now, it is all over. / A hard time I have.With these words, Sitting Bull surrendered to the U.S. government on July 20, 1881. Sitting Bull spent most of his life trying to protect his people. A proud father and brave warrior, Sitting Bull wanted the Lakota Sioux to continue hunting buffalo and roaming the Plains. Although he lost this battle, Sitting Bull is remembered for his brave actions and notable accomplishments.
Here are the great stories of the Blackfeet, recorded by the famous conservationist and ethnologist, George Bird Grinnell, who became a tribal member in 1885. The Nizitapi, or Real People, as they call each other, were people of the buffalo. They originated on the plains of today’s southern Alberta, western Saskatchewan, and central Montana. Famed frontier artist George Catlin called the Blackfeet “the most
powerful tribe of Indians on the continent.” Like many native people, the Blackfeet have stories and legends that originated centuries ago, perhaps thousands of years ago, and were passed down from generation to generation through an oral tradition.
In a story that is as gripping as it is historical, Newbery Honor-winning author Jean Fritz reveals the true life of Pocahontas. Though at first permitted to move freely between the Indian and the white worlds, Pocahontas was eventually torn between her new life and the culture that shaped her.
Countless herds of majestic buffalo once roamed across the plains and prairies of North America. For at least 10,000 years, the native people hunted the buffalo and depended upon its meat and hide for their survival. But to the Indians, the buffalo was also considered sacred. They saw this abundant, powerful animal as another tribe, one that was closely related to them, and they treated it with great respect and admiration.
"Hidden Roots" focuses on the greater impact that the generations of Abenaki that followed had to deal with. Readers will learn about the loss of identity, history and culture;lack ofself worth and fear that Abenaki people were feeling, and still feel today. Middle grade readers love to see life as "being fair", and will totally understand that life is not fair in this story. This is a book that should be read in every middle school class, so that this history will not be forgotten, and never be repeated.
When Ohkwa'ri overhears a group of older boys planning a raid on a neighboring village, he immediately tells his Mohawk elders. He has done the right thing—but he has also made enemies. Grabber and his friends will do anything they can to hurt him, especially during the village-wide game of Tekwaarathon (lacrosse). Ohkwa'ri believes in the path of peace, but can peaceful ways work against Grabber's wrath?
Through the eyes of a brave and independent young woman, Scott O'Dell tells of the tragic defeat of the Nez Perce, a classic tale of cruelty, betrayal, and heroism.
This powerful account of the tragic defeat of the Nez Perce Indians in 1877 by the United States Army is narrated by Chief Joseph's strong and brave daughter.
When Sound of Running Feet first sees white settlers on Nez Perce land, she vows to fight them. She'll fight all the people trying to steal her people's land and to force them onto a reservation, including the soldiers with their guns.
But if to fight means only to die, never win, is the fight worth it? When will the killing stop?
Before dying, Pyesa, Black Hawk’s father and chief of his people, commanded his son to defend their land from whites, who were trying to force the tribe off their land. Black Hawk, however, has no taste for killing and scalping and goes through great internal conflict. The story of this great-hearted leader shows how some whites and Native Americans were peaceful and kind, while others were not. Based on true events, this powerful book teaches about a difficult time period and shares profound, unique messages about love, faith, mercy, humility, friendship, forgiveness, and faith. Recommended for ages 13-18/Grade 7-12
Jim Keath has lived for six years as a Crow Indian when he learns that his two younger brothers and a sister are journeying west to take up land. Although Jim finds it difficult to fit in with the family he hasn’t seen since childhood, and though they are wary and distrustful of him, Jim feels his duty is at their side. But slowly, as they survive the dangerous trek west, the perils of frontier life, and the kidnapping of their younger brother, Jim and his family realize that the only way to survive is to accept each other and truly reunite the family.
Young hawk lived over 400 years ago, but the civilization of the pueblo indians, already well advanced before any white settlers came into their land, has changed very little since his day.
Captured by her enemies, married to a foreigner, and a mother at age sixteen, Sacajawea lived a life of turmoil and change. Then, in 1804, the mysterious young Shoshone woman met Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Acting as interpreter, peacemaker, and guide, Sacajawea bravely embarked on an epic journey that altered history forever. Hear her extraordinary story, in the voices of Sacajawea and William Clark in alternating chapters, with selections from Clark’s original diaries.
She was named Omakakiins, or Little Frog, because her first step was a hop.
Omakakiins and her family live on an island in Lake Superior. Though there are growing numbers of white people encroaching on their land, life continues much as it always has.
But the satisfying rhythms of their life are shattered when a visitor comes to their lodge one winter night, bringing with him an invisible enemy that will change things forever—but that will eventually lead Omakakiins to discover her calling.
After being taken prisoner by an enemy tribe, a Shoshoni girl escapes and makes a thousand-mile journey through the wilderness to find her own people
Tells of the adventurous life of the Wampanoag Indian,Squanto.
This title teaches readers about the first people to live in the Plains region of North America. It discusses their culture, customs, ways of life, interactions with other settlers, and their lives today.
Next, look at these facts about spin drums.
4 Cool Native American Drum Facts
- Drums are used for celebrations, rituals of death, healing, and to communicate with tribal ancestors and spirits.
- Tribes believed that the sound of a drum is like a human’s heartbeat and resembles Mother Earth’s heartbeat.
- Most Native Americans made their drums using a combination of cow, elk, or deer hide and logs.
- Drum circles symbolized unity and harmony and were an expression of Native Americans’ heritage and beliefs.
Additionally, look at these Native American crafts for kids.
10 Native American Crafts for Kids
- How to Make a Wigwam Craft for a Fun Native American Unit Study is a great hands-on activity to do when learning about Powhatan and other tribes that used them.
- Here are 13 Easy Native American Crafts for Kids & Make a Cool Arrowhead from clay that makes a really cool keepsake especially if you can’t get your hands on the real deal.
- This Step-by-Step Native American Diorama is an amazingly detailed and creative example of a diorama.
- Learn How To Make A Feather And Beaded Necklace Craft For Kids using simple craft supplies.
- Make a Super Cute DIY Native American Headband Craft for Kids to wear as they learn about different tribes.
- Try these Native American Activities For Kindergarten and Create A Fun Cradleboard Craft.
- Find some great Native American Crafts for Kindergarten and also How to Make a Kids Pinch Pot as tribes like Pueblo, Navajo, and Cherokee might have crafted.
- Celebrate National Native American Heritage Day and Make a Fun Kids Iroquois Bracelet from wood beads.
- Learn How to Make a Felt Teepee to add to a diorama or just to display on your shelf.
- Get some Daniel Boone Explorer Facts And Make a Fun Birch Bark Canoe Craft like the Shawnee would have made.
Finally, look how to make this Native American spin drum.
Spin Drum Native American Crafts for Kids
You will need:
- Corrugated cardboard
- Scissors
- Craft paint
- String
- beads
- Tissue paper
- markers
- Hot glue gun/glue sticks
First, trace a small round object 2 times, about 3”-4” diameter is perfect.
Use a ruler to trace a 1” wide long strip, how long will depend on the size of your round circles.
Make it longer than you think you will need and then cut it down later.
Cut all your pieces out.
Use the edge of your scissors to make cuts every ⅛” on one side of your cardboard strip, only cutting through the top layer of paper.
This gives it flexibility and makes it much easier to create curves.
Run a thick line of hot glue 2’3” long around the edge of one of the circles.
Quickly press and hold the strip onto the glue and hold it in place until the glue hardens.
Continue around like this, trim the strip to fit, and glue the end in place.
I left mine just shy of the ends touching the other side so that I could get hot glue inside to hold the handle in place.
Spin Drum Native American Crafts for Kids
This hole will be the very bottom of your drum.
Use a skewer to poke a hole from one side and straight out the other and wiggle the skewer around a bit to enlarge the hole.
Push the string through the hole and make a couple of knots on the inside, pull the string out to the knots and hot glue in place, do this through both holes.
You want your string long enough so that the bead on the end will hit roughly the center of the drum as you rotate it.
On the opposite side run hot glue just inside the lip and press your second circle inside, use the hole you left to press it upward with the skewer if you push it down too far.
Paint thinned-out glue all over the surface area and sides of the drum, working in sections.
Press tissue paper into the glue all around and tear the tissue around the string so it can move freely.
Continue to “paint” with glue and cover the entire drum, painting over top of the tissue as well to create an animal skin look.
Put some hot glue in the hole you left in the bottom, be generous, and slide the skewer in over the hot glue, allowing it to harden.
Prop the drum up in a cup and allow the glue to dry.
While waiting for the glue to dry you can paint your wooden beads. Let these dry.
Once everything is dehydrated, add beads to the string and knot the thread, add a dab of hot glue if needed to be sure they are secure.
Use a marker to draw whatever designs you like; just as native Americans might have done.