"Although we are seeing a polar bear drumming, it really is a shaman in his transformed state as a polar bear (his spirit helper). He is singing a song to its helper, Nanuk. The polar bear depicted on his drum is the spirit of Nanuk, thus he is painted with a dreamy, sky-light backdrop, "The Spirit Bear". The drum stick is longer than most used by Inuit drummers because it is Inuvialuit (Western Arctic Inuit, the most Northwest part of Canada). We use this type which hits both top and bottom of the of the drum's edge when struck, but the drum stick is flexible enough that upon striking the drum, the middle part of the stick hits the skin of the drum making the "boom" of the drum-beat."