Sissy Goodhouse of the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota discusses drumming among the Lakota people at the Heartbeat: Voices of First Nations Women Concert during the 1998 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. She calls the drum the heartbeat of their nation and their oral history. This performance is played on a drum envisioned by Eagle Tail Woman, an ancestor who dreamed of unity among tribes.

The Highly acclaimed 1995 Smithsonian Folkways release, Heartbeat: Voices of First Nations Women, introduced the public to a rare and dynamic but little-known Native American music. This new recording offers more material traditionally sung by tribal women and music that is ordinarily sung or played by man but recently performed by women as well. Heartbeat 2 includes social and ceremonial dance songs, war, honor, and story songs from Native North America, as well as music in contemporary styles, including flute songs, poetry set jazz, and pop-oriented folk song. Produced in collaboration with the National Musuem of American History.