There was an independence that went beyond words, colors, or flags, when I arrived at a Powwow in Bear Mountain, New York.
I was invited by Tchin, a Native Flute maker from the Narragansett Heritage. He welcomed and taught me just as if I was like a long-lost son, not an outsider, who wanted to learn about the Native culture and history.
From the moment I reached the ground , my ear responded instinctively to the singing that floated through the air- it resembled nostalgia, a wail for one-ness. The sound ignited me, and from its trance-like repetition, I felt most powerful yet most weak from a force that I can’t control, all, turning, turning, and turning, around me.
That day, I learned that Native music used to be criminalized. Can you believe that? If you were to play Native music, rhythms, or sing songs in Native languages, it was considered a crime. Even public gatherings were against the law, up until the 1970s (not even a lifetime ago)
Tchin, who was a student of Brown University at that time, started making copies of Native flutes for aesthetic purposes. He tried finding manuals to no avail, and after finding a boy scout book (which took a lot from Native culture), it gave him a glimpse.
He kept making Native Flutes until one day..
Tchin: “I was able to go into the Native American Museums’ Warehouse, because before that they would never let anybody, especially a Native person, into the warehouse. For one thing I could understand cause it’s very painful to be in the warehouse, floors and floors and rooms and rooms of all the stolen treasures.”
With this recording, he hopes to preserve the art of making a Native Flute, which is why he shared this knowledge with us.
He said: “First, find a tree branch the size of your arm or your shin. Make the bore the thickness of your finger. Your palm decides where the first note of the flute will be, and the rest of the other notes, is the size of your thumb”
I asked him, “how do you tune it ?”
and he said “you don’t”.
So i then I wondered... “how do you play with people?”
“you don’t”.
There was an independence that went beyond words, colors, or flags, when I arrived at a Powwow in Bear Mountain, New York.
I was invited by Tchin, a Native Flute maker from the Narragansett Heritage. He welcomed and taught me just as if I was like a long-lost son, not an outsider, who wanted to learn about the Native culture and history.
Tchin:"Nothing is a masterpiece- everything is an experiment, so when you're making something, basically you experiment. Don't think about "oh I made a mistake, I screwed up", no you didn't, you learned something. You learned not to do it again.
And you have to make mistakes, because learning is about making mistakes"
all ambisonic audio recorded in Bear Mountain, NY
recorded artists: Tchin, Youngblood Singers, Los Chankas De Peru (Danza De Las Tijeras Dancers)
visual art (in-chronological-order): Teen Women's Traditional, Tchin, Youngblood Singers, Tchin's Flutes,
Men's Traditional & Iroquois Smoke Dancers, Los Chankas De Peru, Jingle Dress Dance
all recorded flutes & BandLab sample pack played by Tchin
produced by: Jimmy Lim for Soundbox Archive