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The Story of Firewood Flutes

as told to me by Randall Standinghourse Shreve, as told to him by Duncan Grady of the Siksika Elk Dreamers Clan from Montana.

"I'm sure you've heard people say of a flute that "it has a wonderful spirit". This firewood story was told to me by a guy who was a big influence on my early flute days named Duncan Grady. Duncan is of the Siksika Elk Dreamers Clan from Montana. The Elk Dreamers Clan is a clan of flute players, these guys are born to play flute, its what they do. One day when I told him that I had a few botched flutes laying around my work space that I was going to clear out, he picked and prodded at me to make sure I wasn't just being too self critical and then told me to burn the botched flutes; he said they were firewood. And he told me why. Duncan told me that when people die and their spirit moves on to their next world, they leave behind everything they knew in this world. He said they miss the things they can no longer touch and feel here among us. But, he also said they can still see us.They can still hear us, and the still influence our daily lives. A flute can give a spirit a new voice in this world, even though they have gone on to their world. Duncan told me spirits will stand in line to be part of a good flute. The spirits lend their songs to the voice of the flute. And the spirits can then be heard in this world again. This is why botched flutes need to be burned. To free the spirits who would otherwise be trapped and imprisoned in a flute that won't let them speak. This is why our flutes are more than just musical instruments. This is why flutes need to be well cared for. This is why flutes aren't toys.This is why flutes are magic."  

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