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Born in the
month of the cry of the baby eagles, I've experienced most
of my youth on the Navajo Reserve in the small town of
Piñon, Arizona, which my sister calls "God's Country". Being
part of pow-wows and other sacred social gatherings of
friends and families, I've been raised to respect spirits,
like and death as well as the elements, space and time and
other Nations. My Grandmothers, Aunts and Sisters were the
people most influential in my upbringing.
My first Native
American flute was given to me by my Uncle Irvin in trade
for a grass dance outfit. He showed my the basic fingering
and breathing, then told me to practice and only then would
I be able to play my own songs. At first I procrastinated an
the flute hung on the wall. Then one night a month later I
had a blissful dream and the following morning my family
awakened to flute music for the first time.
As individuals,
we are only a single note lingering gin this cosmos, but as
one people we make a strong chord in Harmony with the
Universe.
~Mockingbird |