Kevin Locke Books & Videos
Songkeepers (2000) 48-minutes
A poignant documentary with interviews and performances by major artists of the American Indian flute tradition. Kevin Locke, R. Carlos Nakai, Sonny Nevaquaya, Tom Mauchahty-Ware, Hawk LittleJohn and Dr. Richard Payne share their stories and insights into the culture and music of the indigenous flute.
Lakota Hoop Dancer – Jacqueline Left Hand Bull & Suzanne Haldane
The Hoop Dance is a way of keeping Lakota traditions alive, communicating a vision of renewal that inspires and uplifts people around the world. It’s a celebration of the human spirit, a symbol of unity and equality. This 32-page color photo-essay with engaging text and lively images is suitable for grades 3-6.
Hoop of Peace (1994) Naturegraph Publishers
Jan Havnen-Finley. Illustrator: Ken “Rainbow Cougar” Edwards
A wonderful book for young readers, with a message important for all ages. Imaginative illustrations and narrative tell of Kevin Locke’s performance of the Lakota hoop dance in order to understand the great vision of Lakota holy man Black Elk (1863-1950), explaining how Kevin’s hoop configurations communicate a vision of peace, a spiritual springtime that occurs as people rise above limitations of ignorance and join in beautiful patterns of unity.
Recomended Books
Indian Givers by Jack Weatherford – grade 10-up
How the cultural, social, and political practices of Indians have transformed the way of life as lived throughout the world. Traces the crucial contributions made by American Indians to government, democratic institutions, medicine, agriculture, architecture and ecology. A Fawcett Columbine Book, Ballantine Books, 1988. ISBN 0-449-90496-2
Black Elk Speaks as told through John G. Neihardt by Nicholas Black Elk grade 10-up
Black Elk’s profound visions of the unity of humanity, together with historical accounts of the Lakota Nation’s struggle for survival in the late 19th century. University of Nebraska Press, 1932. ISBN 0-8032-6170-5
Waterlily by Ella Cara Deloria grade 7-up
An evocation of the life of a Dakota woman before Europeans settled the Northern Plains. Born in 1889 on the Yanktown Reservation, Ella lived as a child on the Standing Rock Reservation, where Kevin and his Hunkpapa Lakota tiyospaye live now. A Bison paperback from the University of Nebraska Press, 1932. ISBN 0-8032-8359-8
Land of the Spotted Eagle by Luther Standing Bear grade 4-up
Standing Bear looks back at his Lakota culture and the key values that enabled the society to thrive in interdependence prior to the European invasion. University of Nebraska Press, 1933. Paperback. ISBN 0-8032-5890-9