I have written many Journey Oracle posts about how to build or paint a drum, yet I have not focused on the smallest, most valuable part. The most important part of a frame drum is whatever is used to hold the hide onto the frame, since without the tension the drum would have no voice. Some drum builders use thongs made of hide, but many years ago I was shown in a shamanic journey to use a cedar withe made into a ring. 
The withe is a long thin branch on a cedar tree, traditionally used by First Nations people in the Canadian northwest for fish hooks and fasteners because of its remarkable strength. Before I cut a withe I tell the tree what I want it for, and make a gift of pounded corn to the ground at the tree base. This is for two reasons. I learned from Martin Prechtel to always leave a gift of eloquence and effort when I take something from its natural destiny. I also believe that when a squirrel or mouse finds the corn, and eats well, its joy helps the tree heal.
The withe is peeled of its bark; the ends are "feathered" which means shaped to half the original dimension, and then bent into an aluminum ring with the feathered ends overlapping. If the withe is the most important part of the drum, then the shavings are the most valuable. This is because I understand that nothing from Nature is garbage.
The shavings and cedar brackets trimmed from the withe go back to the tree and are left to melt back into the soil as food for the Holy. The physical mass of the shavings are not the food, but are evidence of my remembering to feed Nature with my respect and thank you.
