Ashland, Mont. --- St. Labre seventh grade Academy student, “Bucky” Old Elk, leads eleven of his fellow classmates in a round of intertribal drumming and singing amidst the watchful eyes of his instructor Mr. Headswift. Only this time, Old Elk is not in the comforts of the classroom.

For more than three years, St. Labre Indian School has petitioned the state of Montana’s activities organization for inclusion of traditional Native American music at the district music festival. Festival officials, while supportive, were quick to admit that without written composition and defined criteria for evaluating, they could not properly judge the performance.

“The kids were tense,” said Headswift. “We didn’t know what to expect. We’d performed at the festival in years past, but we were never evaluated. This was a whole different pow-wow.”

St. Labre staff worked diligently to develop judging criteria and continued to prod the state. This spring, the members of Headswift’s drumming class made history as the first and only traditional Native American drum group to perform at district, scoring the second highest possible rating of excellent.

While some kinks remain in competing, inclusion by the state sends a strong message to Native American students that their music, their culture, is alive and not a historical artifact.

“The tension quickly disappeared,” said Headswift. “My students brought people inside our culture. They relayed the stories I’ve shared with them as if they were their own.”

The drum program began under the direction of Headswift, a young Northern Cheyenne St. Labre graduate and member of a well known drum group, North Bear, that appears at pow-wows across the country. Headswift, a young man devoting his life to learning and teaching proper protocols of the drum, willingly shares what has been passed down to him.

“It’s important that our youth perform the songs of our elders,” said Headswift. “Without these kids, there would be no future for our culture.”