The Daily News

Keith Bear, a world renown Native American storyteller and flute maker, invited area students to think about their dreams, friendship and respect at a free performance at the Circle of Nations School Friday.

Prior to the performance, Bear spent two weeks at Circle of Nations working with students and teaching them to make flutes and paint rabbit skin hides.

The performance, held in Keeble Auditorium, featured Bear playing several of his handmade flutes, all of which were connected to a story he told.

Here, Bear teaches students a native saying from a story in which a coyote sings to fool a group of prairie chickens. In the photo, the chickens are played by the students. Photo by Erin Hevern Advertisement

"We like to tell stories and with those stories we like to make songs with them," Bear said. "If you breathe life into the flutes, they will sing to you."

Bear lives in western North Dakota along the Missouri River, where the state bird, the Meadowlark, is often seen.

Holding a small wooden flute, Bear explained how he uses his hands to measure where holes should go. Then, you just listen to it, he said.

"When I played this one I heard the meadowlark singing," Bear said, scanning the room.

While he acnkowledged everyone is different, he said everyone is the same, too, and it is necessary to treat others with respect.

"It's one thing we have plenty of, but we just need to share it more," Bear said.

Later in the performance, Bear played a flute crafted from wood he found in a man's trash. He was able to make four different flutes from this wood, working carefully and precisely on each. He found each flute had its own voice, he just had to listen to the song just as students should listen to their hearts and find their own voice.

Bear said they should appreciate the diverse world around them as well, as many will choose a different path then their own.

"The art of music is looking to your heart and listening to the world around you," Bear said. "You see, if we listen, the world around us will sing."

The last song Bear played was one he titled "Walking In Harmony," hoping that all present could become friends and not let boundaries, such as race, integrity, or culture affect who one shares a friendship with.

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