The Indigenous Flute
To the Lakota/Dakota Nation, located on the northern plains of Maka Wita (Earth Island), the flute is the essence of the wind, especially Niya Awicableze, the Enlightening Breath, that first waft upon which the meadowlarks return to the northern prairies. The flute gives voice to the beauty of the land and is the sound of the wind as it rustles the grasses and leaves, scales the buttes and mountains, skims the surface of lakes and streams.

The Lakota flute gives voice to seven notes: four represent the directions, one represents the heavens, another the Earth and a seventh note represents the place where all come together in each of us: the heart. Kevin performs with many handmade cedar wood flutes, including a rare instrument made nearly a hundred years ago by Poweshiek of the Meskwaki Nation.

"It is so hard for people to relate one to another because we all come from different backgrounds. But no matter where we come from, we can all connect with music," Kevin says.