Tag Archives: Kevin Locke

The Hoop of Life

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Education, Entertainment, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

October 1, 2022- He once held court, while sitting up in the fold-out bed at our home in Jeddito, Arizona. It was the mid-1990s, and things were fairly good. Tokaya Inajin, better known as Kevin Locke, was succeeding in popularizing hoop dancing, and making the meaning behind the art form clear to all who attended his performances.

He was also a fine singer, a true champion of the Lakota Sioux people, from whom he emerged. Yet, he eschewed violence and saw fit to reach out to all people, reminding everyone that the four colours of humanity were equal before the Creator. His take, like mine, was that no one be excluded, even if they themselves sought to exclude. It was a learning process, which involved a fair amount of unlearning.

Tokaya Inajin, “The First to Arise”, in Lakota, was as proud of his mainstream name and activities, as he was of being part of a First Nation. He embraced a variety of musical styles, following in the footsteps of other First Nations musicians whom he admired, but staying true to the message that his mother’s people had a central part to play in stewardship of the Earth. To that end, illustrating the Hoop of Life was his central muse.

Kevin left us, yesterday, to join the spirits who watch over those still engaged in the work of that stewardship. His presence here was a blessing, from start to finish.

Here is an example of his work, from a visit he made to the Miccosukee Nation.

Flautist

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Social, Spiritual

March 25, 2018, Burntwater, AZ-

Kevin Locke is an accomplished flautist, a master of the flute.  He is also one of the Great Plains people who popularized the Hoop Dance, a Native American traditional dance which illustrates the oneness of Creation.  A complete, properly executed, Hoop Dance will produce a sphere, representing the Earth.  Kevin demonstrated this, in an afternoon presentation, after having taught several of us how to make and use a flute.

(Presently, I am unable to access my photo stock, due to a problem with File Explorer.  Please bear with me on this.)

Getting back to the flute:  There is a base, of either hardwood or plastic.   Six sound holes, and one air hole, are drilled into top of the flute base. A couple of sound pieces are fitted together, then placed inside the base, using a light dowel.  Then, an arrow-shaped fitting is tied to the top of the base, near the air hole.

Playing the flute requires a fair amount of dactyl dexterity (co-ordinated fingers), which is a challenge for someone like me, but I will practice a bit, as a means to produce a calming sound.  It will be a good stress reliever.

Finally, getting back to the Hoop Dance, Kevin invited several people to join in the dance.  I sat it out,as my right shoulder is being treated by a chiropractor, and I want to get this matter finished, before subjecting my faithful friend of 67 years to any more difficulty than necessary.  The recovery is coming along nicely, by the way.

We ended the afternoon with a Friendship Dance, in which everyone begins holding hands in a circle, then winds their way around in a spiral, eventually shaking hands with every other person in the circle.

It was a long day, and a long drive back to Prescott, but well-worth the visit with an old friend.