Bush Foundation Fellowships

Kevin Locke

2009 Enduring Vision Award
South Dakota
www.kevinlocke.com

Career Field: Traditional and Ethnic Performing Arts

Kevin Locke (Tokaheya Inajin, “The First to Arise”) (Lakota, Hunkpapa Band/Anishinaabe) lives in Wakpala, South Dakota, and is known throughout the world as a Hoop Dancer, the preeminent player of the indigenous Northern Plains flute, a traditional storyteller, cultural ambassador, recording artist and educator. While his early instructions were received from his immediate family and community, from his extended family in every part of the world Locke has learned many lessons in global citizenship and how we each can draw from our individual heritages to create a vibrant, evolving global civilization embracing and celebrating our collective heritage. His joy is working with children on the reservations to ensure the survival and growth of indigenous culture. He is acknowledged to be the pivotal force in the now powerful revival of the indigenous flute tradition, which had teetered on the brink of extinction. Locke was awarded a 1990 National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts.