A woman with a lined face beats her drum, loudly and fiercely, in unison with the group around her.

Her tan skin expresses years of wisdom, with long, light-colored dreadlocks reaching toward her lower back.

“I want…to tell you… about the…Grandmother Drum… and the Grandmother Beat,” the woman said in time with the beats.

Sharon Sanders, also known as “The Storyteller,” is a pastor at the United Spiritualist Church in Gardena.

With every beat of her drum, she told the story of Native American ancestors and Mother Earth. This sacred moment was part of the Native American Drum Circle at the El Camino College Art Gallery on Tuesday, March 19.

The circle consisted of seven people, some of whom are affiliated with the church and are of “Native American heritage,” Carrie Lockwood, an associate at the El Camino College Art Gallery, said.

In Native American culture, Sanders said, the drum circle “symbolizes community, [and] the circle is the ultimate circle of unity.”

This ceremony has been practiced for generations and also serves as a way to honor ancestors who have long passed on, she said.

The ceremony also celebrated the beginning of the spring equinox, which is when the Earth’s axis and orbit line up so that both hemispheres receive the same amount of sunlight.

“This is Native American ground right here,” Sanders said as she pointed toward nearby buildings. “We really respect the ways of Native American culture, so we do a better job of taking care of our Mother Earth.”

The largest drum at the event, the Grandmother Drum, is representative of the heartbeat of Mother Earth. When music is made, Sanders said, all the people involved match their heartbeat to that of the drums.

“We never asked for that, we never expected that, but she brought that to us,” Sanders said, referring to “the blessing” Mother Earth bestowed upon humanity.

Reverend Suzanne Vallez, 77, was one of the seven participants in the drum circle.

She is also one of the ministers in Sanders’ church and founder of the Mystical United Spiritualist Church, which is closely affiliated with Sanders.

Vallez is a reiki master and has 20 years of experience conducting drum circles. Reiki is a Japanese spiritual practice of energy healing.

Vallez shared several objects and instruments that hold a special purpose in the process of the drum circle, including a turtle drum and a frog-shaped noise maker.

“It chases the evil spirits away. I’m a healer, and black energies do not like noise,” she said.

A smooth, gold “singing” bowl was also used in the ceremony. Sanders would hit the bowl with a small wooden stick, causing noise to radiate all around.

She said this act signifies the release of healing vibrations to the individual who needs healing, but cannot make it to the drum circle.

Another participant, Carolyn Carroll, 74, discussed her personal experience with drum circles, saying it makes her feel “peace and balance and love.”

Carroll has been attending drum circle events for the past two years.

“You just feel the energy, the vibration. It’s soothing and healing,” Carroll said.

Lockwood sought out this group as an opportunity to showcase Native American culture.

Although the people involved with the activity do not identify as fully Native American, Sanders said that over time, people of color banded together, regardless of their culture, in order to make it through difficult times.

“Both sides of my mother and father, my grandparents have Native American blood. That’s how we survived, [and] I don’t know how to explain it, it feels so natural for us to be together,” Sanders said.

The primary goal of the ceremony was to deliver and convey a sense of awareness, equality and balance in the community, while also being able to come together to preserve the “life of Mother Earth.”

“I feel it’s an honor that we received the Grandmother Drum and that we were asked to participate in this drum circle,” Sanders said.