The first session of the Sacred Little Ones series brought caregivers and children together around the drum.
Fun with the Drum: Benefits of Creative Expression was led by Elder Sewa Valencia (Yaqui, Yoeme), founder and director of Sisters of the One Drum. The gathering was built around the cultural significance and medicine of the drum. Participants sang and shared stories, prayers, and joy.milies.
The So’oh-Shinálí Sister Project describes the session as uplifting relationships, celebration, and the medicine of the drum, and says the Sacred Drum supports young children in affirming and celebrating their intertribal identities, their community, and the resilience carried through generations.
That framing matters in Los Angeles County, where the Native community is intertribal by nature. A drum circle is not tied to a single nation’s practice. It is a shared space where children from many nations can participate together.
I got to see every one of them, as an individual, express their rhythm, their pulse, their flow, their energy, their songs, their heart, and their prayers.
— Sewa Valencia (Yaqui, Yoeme), Sisters of the One Drum
Caregivers were in the circle rather than watching from outside it, which is consistent across all Sacred Little Ones sessions. The organization frames these gatherings as culturally rooted early childhood experiences, and says moments like these are a reminder of why that rooting matters.
The Sacred Little Ones campaign is a partnership between the So’oh-Shinálí Sister Project and First 5 LA, working alongside communities to grow a social movement that elevates the needs of children prenatal to age five and their families. The campaign’s stated aims are to spread awareness of existing resources, celebrate and amplify culturally affirming services, and urge policymakers to advocate for services and funding tailored to Native and Indigenous families.
Resources for families
The campaign’s Birth to Five resource guide runs more than 25 pages, covering childcare, parenting support, early education, special education, financial support, food security, and healing.
Read the Birth to Five Resource Guide
ADDITIONAL LINKS:
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