The Rocket

Issue date: 10/14/05 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: KAREN BUTLER/THE ROCKET Calvin Standing Bear performs in the MPR.

Media Credit: KAREN BUTLER/THE ROCKET Calvin Standing Bear plays his flute.

Calvin Standing Bear, a full-blooded Oglala/Sicangu Lakota from the Rosebud reservation of South Dakota, gave a performance of the Native American Flute at Swope Recital Hall on Wednesday. Standing Bear played many traditional Lakota songs as well as some contemporary Lakota music he had composed himself.

"The point of Hispanic Cultures week is to celebrate and teach others about these indigenous culture," Professor Itzi Meztli said.

The Lakota tribe is one of the oldest in the country. It is a sub-division of the Sioux Tribe that was situated mainly in North and South Dakota.

Although it was once a large, thriving tribe it is now being threatened, as are many Native American cultures. It is very hard to find someone who is a pureblooded Lakota.

"Very few people who say they are Native American are pureblooded. We cannot marry people from the Rosebud Tribe because we are all related," Standing Bear said. "Talk to the young ones. We are losing our tradition."

Standing Bear himself has an impressive lineage, which only contributes to his passion for his tribe.

"I come from a line of chiefs on both sides, on my Dad's side my uncle was a chief. On my mothers side I had three grandfather chiefs of the Sioux nation," Standing Bear said.

Standing Bear went to school in Carlow, Pennsylvania. He wore traditional clothing. It was desired to teach children to speak English and have more of a Western Culture.

"When my grandfather went back, he found the native people were losing their traditions," Standing Bear said. "So he became a writer and wrote books about growing up as a young boy."

This danger of the dying culture is what makes Standing Bear's performances and art so important. He is a member of the Sonoran Spirit Flute Circle and has a profound love and respect for native culture. Through his music he is able to spread his culture in a way that will appeal to everyone.

Standing Bear uses a combination of song and lecture to teach his culture to everyone from grade school children to college students. He has recently collaborated on Lakota Star Knowledge, a flute presentation workshop for children. Standing Bear also provided the music narration for The Stars, the Black Hills and the Buffalo, which explains Lakota star mapping and story telling with songs.

Standing Bear is deeply involved in traditional ceremonies himself. Through these ceremonies he has developed his spirituality. The spirituality of the tribe has been the most important aspect of native culture. It is a way to both spread and deepen the culture. Standing Bear travels the country to participate and share this spirituality. He feels that it is crucial for his culture.

"Always talk to the young," he said. "They can carry on the culture."

Music is an integral part of the culture and the flute is one of the most important instruments. The traditional Lakota flute is usually made of cedar wood. It has seven notes, four of which represent the directions, one which represents the heavens, another represents the Earth and the seventh is the heart.

"I thank Great Spirit Tunkashila, Wakan Tanka for the flute," Standing Bear said. "It can touch the heart where voices cannot reach. I am honored to share this music with the world. The flute has been a tradition of our people for hundreds of years. I pray this music will provide a healing energy to the hearts and spirits."

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