by Brandon Trail

The Alaskan Inuit use a wider variety of instruments than the Inuit of Canada and Greenland where the singe head frame drum is often the only instrument played (Oxford University Press).  The frame drum is the staple in all Inuit music. The head of the drum is usually made with the stomach or liver of a whale, walrus, or caribou. A beater is used to strike the drum from below, and usually made from a thin, curved stick (Oxford University Press). 

            Another type of idiophonic box drum is associated with the Messenger Feast. A wooden rectangular frame is decorated with zigzag edges and eagle feathers.  The myth of the feast’s origins says that the drumbeat is supposed to represent an eagle’s heartbeat (Oxford University Press). The drum is suspended from the roof and played by a seated drummer.
            Other instruments include rattles made of bone, bird beaks, and animal teeth that are attached to dance mittens or other apparel. Chordophones have been observed on rare occasions such as a one string fiddle played by a small wand or quill (Oxford University Press).