July 2007

Hau kola na tiyospaye (Hello friends & extended family),

Welcome to all new Circle members! Each section of the Circle of Nations newsletter is written 'facing' one of the four sacred winds, beginning with the east, then the south, west and finally the north. This is to honor the old ways. It is to teach and to help us to focus and find the center. I have designed the Native Circle website in the same spirit. I welcome you all to the Circle....

EAST - Wiyohinyanpata - Yellow (Four Winds)
The power within the hokagapi....
In the Lakota language, the word used to describe the Cedar Flute is Hokagapi, which means, ‘to make a voice.’ From the very first time I ever played a Cedar Flute, I knew immediately that this was no ordinary instrument. It seemed that everyone who heard it was enchanted by it, and they only wanted one thing - to hear more. This humble little wind instrument with 5 or 6 holes, is way more than the sum of its wooden parts. There is a power hidden deep within the resonance of its voice which comes from an ancient place, and can transform the body, soul, mind and spirit in amazing, mysterious ways. Throughout my life I have picked up and learned to play many different kinds of musical instruments. None of them ever came to me as easily, and as effortlessly as the American Indian Cedar Flute. From the moment I touched my lips to my very first flute, I could play it and play it well. I knew then that this was the instrument I had been destined to play from the beginning....
The Cedar Flute has an undeniable power. It has that power because it is empty, or hollow inside. It is not ‘full of itself.’ And what gives it a voice is the breath of life which is breathed into it by whoever plays it. That breath of life is a gift from Wakantanka. It is the essence of Spirit, invisible yet very real and very present. As a player of these instruments that I consider to be sacred, it is my responsibility to be respectful with them and allow myself to be a ‘hollow bone’ when I play. If I succeed in emptying myself, Spirit may come and fill my emptiness. This power will then flow into the emptiness of the Hokagapi. As its voice is offered to the wind, the hidden power can fill the emptiness in the hearts of any who listen and hear. This is when the healing and mending can and does happen. This, is the power of the Cedar Flute....
When I am in concert, I always perform at least one rendition of solo flute with only the flute and no supporting musical arrangements. After the show, the people at the sales tables are almost always asked “does he have a CD with ‘just flute’?” It is my belief that the power of the lone flute is what moves people and motivates them to ask this question. With this in mind, I decided to, at long last, give many of you what you have been asking for - a CD of my Cedar Flute solos. This new CD is entitled ‘Cedar Dreams’, and I am pleased to share with you that the CD is now Pre-Released. I sincerely hope you are blessed by these flute songs. Listen closely and you will sense the power of Spirit hidden deep within the resonance of the voice of each flute. You will hear and feel their healing gift. In the end, the Hokagapi is bigger than me, just as Spirit is bigger than us all. May we all know the peace, humility and beauty that exists within the ancient voice of the sacred Cedar Flute. The cedar dreams of only good things....
The New Cedar Dreams CD


SOUTH - Itokagata - Red (Red Earth)
A word from Peggy....

Hello friends:
It has been raining in North West Arkansas for about 6 weeks straight. I know many of you wish you had some of our rain. But it is a little strange, because the weather just never has done this in the past. Everywhere weather patterns are changing and so we just don't know what to expect anymore. More mystery for us to deal with. It is certainly not a mystery that we need to take better care of mother earth. We need to live more responsibly for future generations. Use less, reuse what we can and continually become more educated in ways to preserve our planet. I am thankful for the rain and will be thankful for some sunshine also!!

Well we've finally done it! We have purchased a Circle of Nations retreat house on More Mountain in Eureka Springs AR. I have been calling the Lodge, Peace Mountain. Thank you to all those who came out and gave us a hand, painting and cleaning last weekend. So now the Circle of Nations family has a place to call home and if you are interested in coming up to the mountain for a private retreat or interested in any of our retreats please go to the website to learn more:
The Retreats

Two new products are now available on both our websites. The first is the wonderful hand made greeting cards with beautiful art by Gourd artist Cynthia McDonald, with words of wisdom and incredible music by John Two-Hawks all in one gift card.
Each new card has one of 4 wisdom sayings, an original art design and comes with the CD Single "Black Cherry Moon" from the Honor CD tucked nicely inside.
Retail price of the cards is $7.99 each. Also the Variety 4-Pack of cards retails for $27.99. What a Great Gift!!
Wisdom & Music Greeting Cards
Now for the second product… Many of you have been asking for years.... “Do you have a solo flute CD!?” YES, YES, NOW WE DO!!!!! Announcing the new CD by John Two-Hawks – ‘Cedar Dreams’ ~ American Indian Solo Flute!
"Cedar Dreams" is now Officially Pre-Released, and is available for only $12.00 each until the Official Release date. This special will only be available for a very short time, so place your order today for yourself, your friends and your family for this low introductory price.
The New Cedar Dreams CD
John Two-Hawks will be in Hannibal MO, St. Charles MO, Indianapolis IN, and Dayton Ohio in August for various appearances. Take a look at the latest schedule for more information.
The Current JTH Schedule
See you very soon, and whether the rain falls or the sun shines, be thankful, be peaceful and be full of hope.
love ya,
Peace,
Peggy
Red Earth
Native Circle ~ John Two-Hawks


WEST - Wiyohpeyata - Black or Blue (We are STILL Here!)
It is the year 1898. On the dusty floor of a worn out one room reservation shack, an old man sits whittling on a long piece of wood. With old tools and old hands, small shavings and carvings begin to transform the wooden shaft, until ultimately, after days and days of tedious work, a new Hokagapi is born. The first notes drift on the winds of an old man’s dreams, memories of another time, dancing like visions in the golden glow of the setting sun. That raspy wooden voice carries with it the sacred bundle of the old ways. With each gentle note, the old man is drawn further and further away from the cold, gray harshness of reservation life, and back to the warm vibrance of the life he once knew. As the new melody flows forth, the hard floor, square room, metal pots and pans, and pangs of hunger drift away. On wings of sacred sound the old man becomes one with himself and his people again. He recalls his youth, the laughter, young love and courageous feats on the battlefield. He feels the circle of his tipi around him once again, and the flicker of the fires of family and friends. He remembers what it was to be truly and completely happy. As the notes trail off, he returns to the oppressive reality that is his life as a Lakota elder in 1898. So much of who he was has been stripped and torn away. Language, culture, customs and traditions all outlawed or under attack. It seems that all that remains of his true self is hidden deep within his heart. And yet, here he sits, preferring the floor to any chair, having brought forth from a piece of wood an instrument with origins that go back to a time before an old man’s memory. An instrument most of the world has never seen nor heard. Yet here it rests, in his hands, the hands of its maker. Just as he rests in the hands of Wakantanka. Empty, hollow and humble. He will pass it on, this knowledge, to a younger soul with younger hands and a lighter heart. And perhaps someday, long after he has passed from this life, the world will hear the voice of his pain, his loss, and his broken heart, as well as the magnificent story of his people, in the raspy, gentle call of a cedar flute. And perhaps it will be a flute fashioned by hands that learned from someone who once sat at the feet of an old Lakota man who, in 1898, despite his hunger and hardship, chose to sit on the floor of a reservation shack with a long piece of wood, and with old hands and old tools, reclaim a part of himself, his identity and his heritage, and pass it on.
The mere existence of the Hokagapi, or American Indian wooden flute, is a testament to the diligence, tenacity, patience and cultural strength of our Indigenous ancestors. I cannot play a flute without connecting to all of this power, spiritual, cultural and historical. This ancient, one-of-a-kind wind instrument carries a sacred message from Wakantanka deep within its still, small voice. Blessed are those who lean in to hear....

NORTH - Waziyata - White (Words of Wisdom)
Some thoughts to ponder....

‘Easy’ and ‘Right’ are not always related

Knowledge is the adolescent grandchild of Wisdom

Knowledge is about answers. Wisdom is about questions.

True friends hold fast, even in the midst of the storms


May Wakantanka encircle you and yours with faith to believe, hope for the future, and love for all....

As always, in the spirit of mending the sacred hoop of the nations of the world
Your Oglala Lakota friend and brother,
John Two-Hawks
http://www.nativecircle.com
http://www.johntwohawks.com
Reprinting of this Circle of Nations newsletter is encouraged! All I ask is that it be printed in its entirety, with no changes, and that I be given proper credit, unless I have otherwise okayed it. Wopila (great thanks)!