We have a shared interest in the various intersections of art and law. One strand of Ruth’s ongoing research has explored the relations between experience, affect and legal pluralism; while a facet of Jeffery’s research examines sources and forms of law of Indigenous Peoples in what is now known as Canada – particularly Anishinaabe and Cree laws. Together we found ourselves at a gathering last September of colleagues involved in GRASAC – Great Lakes Research Alliance for the Study of Aboriginal Arts and Culture – and through various discussions found ourselves drawn to this particular drum from Manitoulin Island as an object of law. Among other things, we wondered what role this drum might have played in the unfolding of British imperialism on the North American continent and how the drum might be understood as a site of law that engages with versus erases the relationship between Anishinaabe Peoples and the British Crown.