R. Carlos Nakai
To become the world’s premier Native American flutist, R. Carlos Nakai had to rely more on research and innovation and less on his Navajo-Ute heritage. While the Diné had a strong flute-playing tradition, it was lost when they migrated from the Northwest Plains of Canada to the Southwest over five centuries ago. While Nakai may not have been “born to the flute,” it was curiosity about his heritage that led him to it.
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Native American Flute History
Next to the drum, the most important Native American instrument is the flute. Earliest written accounts of explores and colonists often mention that the native peoples played ‘flutes’. Unfortunately, these accounts do not include pictures or descriptions of these instruments.
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Native American Love Flute Legend
There was a time before flutes . . .Many generations ago, the people had drums, gourd rattles and bull-roarers, but no flutes. At that time, a young man went out to hunt. The people in his camp were hungry as meat was scarce. . .
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