Buffalo Dance Song
Well, that is a traditional song. It really is a traditional song, but it’s a Buffalo Dance song.
I used to travel around with this group from Rosebud. It was Ben Black Bear, Sr., and Lloyd One Star and the old Iron Wood Singers. A group of us performed different traditional dances.
In one of the songs, one of the dances was a Buffalo Dance. Ben Black Bear had this song. He was really a treasure, just a walking encyclopedia of traditional knowledge. He had this really beautiful Buffalo Dance song.
I’ve never heard it since then. That was the only time. Nobody’s used it. You know, it’s been like thirty years since I’ve heard them sing it.
So then, I just love that tune. I thought, well, I’ll use it, you know. It’s a beautiful song and what it’s saying is about the force that moves the buffalo over the country.
“I appear with a visible face,” It says, “Ite taninyan hibuwelo”.
Then, “Mitamakoceki tatanka omani wagage.” “I am the one that causes the buffalo to roam over your land.” That’s what that says “I am the one.”
That song, it’s kind of a mysterious thing, but it’s like the Power that causes the buffalo to move over this land. That’s the voice that’s talking in that song.
That to me is really the sign of true art. There may be a meaning that you know about, that you have in mind, but really great art that transcends in one individual’s vision of what it is. It has too. ‘Cause otherwise, how could it last?
Also in that recording, there are some virtuosic levels of musicianship in there. There are some great musicians in there. , I really felt humbled when I was with some of those guys because they’re really top of the line. You can hear that tenor sax in there, the guy on keyboards and everything. Have you heard that? You didn’t hear it yet? There are just some great musicians going on in there. Well, you would know that. You’re, in the business.
Kevin Locke
Known throughout the world as a visionary Hoop Dancer, player of the indigenous flute and traditional storyteller Kevin Locke is Lakota/Ojibwe and lives in Wakpala, South Dakota on the Standing Rock Reservation. Tokeya Inajin is his Lakota name, meaning “The First to Arise”. With a little Indian humor, he is “wahununpa oyate” or from the Human Being Tribe. Kevin received training in the values, traditions, and language of his native culture from his mother Patricia Locke, his uncle Abraham End of Horn, mentor Joe Rock Boy and many elders and relatives.
Kevin gives concerts and presentations to performing arts centers, festivals, schools, universities, conferences, state and national parks, monuments and historic sites, pow wows, and reservations. His special joy is working with children on the reservations to ensure the survival and growth of the indigenous culture. It is the universal spirit that Kevin strives to convey through his stories, music, humor, dances, and workshops. As a folk artist, he is often characterized as being oriented from a tribal-specific background only. Kevin Locke is acknowledged in the powerful revival of the indigenous flute tradition. In his presentations, Kevin plays the flute quite a bit. He got started playing the flute after going to a flute recital given by Richard Fool Bull. Kevin struck up a conversation with Fool Bull afterward. One day after Fool Bull’s passing Kevin’s mom found one of the flutes he had made and had Kevin take it with him. She also had some old recordings of archived Indian music and that’s where he started his repertoire. The Lakota flute voices seven notes – four represent the directions, one represents the heavens, another represents the Earth, and the seventh note represents the place where the six come together: each person’s heart. The Hoop Dance is an expression of Kevin’s belief in the Oneness of Humankind. The traditional Hoop Dance illustrates “the roles and responsibilities that all human beings have within the hoops (or circles) of life.” The hoops represent Unity, while the four colors of the hoops – black, red, yellow, and white – represent the four directions, four seasons, four winds, the four human races, and more. Finally, all 28 hoops interlock to form an interdependent sphere.
Kevin has very inspiring stories to share. Underlined with the eagle song is a creation story that tells when the world was flooded and there was only one survivor, a woman. An eagle rescued her. They flew over the floodwaters and landed on the last remnant of the world, a branch on the ‘Great Tree of Life. From the eagle and woman, the human race descended and dispersed throughout the world and re-established the human race. Legend has it that future descendants will come back and meet each other. Some day a generation will appear and recognize the noble spirit that symbolizes the eagle and will fly on wings of knowledge and understanding.
Kevin was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) which recognized him as a Master Traditional Artist, the most prestigious award to folk artists. It was presented to him by the president of the United States. He was awarded Artist of the Year, 2005, by the governor of South Dakota. He has served as a cultural ambassador for the United States Information Service since 1980. Deeply committed to the conservation of Earth’s resources for future generations, Kevin was a delegate to the 1992 Earth Summit in Brazil and a featured performer and speaker at the 1996 United Nations Habitat II Conference in Turkey.
Touring for two decades, Kevin has performed and lectured in more nearly 80 countries, sharing his high vision of balance, joy, and diversity. Kevin has recorded twelve albums of music and stories, most recently The First Flute, Open Circle, Keepers of the Dream, and Dream Catcher.
“All of the people have the same impulses, spirit, and goals,” reflects Kevin. “Through my music and dance, I want to create a positive awareness of the Oneness of humanity.”
Kevin Locke
PO Box 22
Wakpala, South Dakota 57658
605-848-0550 cell
605-845-2690 hm
lockekevin@aol.com