Kevin Locke

June 23, 1954 – October 1, 2022 Kevin Locke (Tokaheya Inajin or Tokeya Inajin are his Lakota names, meaning "Stands First" or "The First to Arise") is known throughout the world as a visionary Hoop Dancer, the preeminent player of the indigenous Northern Plains flute, a traditional storyteller, cultural ambassador, recording artist and educator. Kevin is Lakota (Hunkpapa Band of Lakota Sioux) and Anishinabe. It was from his mother, Patricia Locke (1991 MacArthur Foundation Grant winner), his uncle Abraham End-of-Horn, mentor Joe Rock Boy, and many other elders and relatives that Kevin received training in the values, traditions and language of his native culture for which he works tirelessly. While his early instructions were received from his immediate family and community, from his extending family in every part of the world Kevin 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. Kevin Locke's concerts and presentations (please see live performances schedule) at performing arts centers, festivals, schools, universities, conferences, state and national parks, monuments and historic sites, powwows and reservations number in the hundreds annually. Approximately eighty percent of his presentations are shared with children. He is a dance and musical hero and role model for youth around the world. His special joy is working with children on the reservations to ensure the survival and growth of indigenous culture. Kevin Locke is acknowledged to be the pivotal force in the now powerful revival of the indigenous flute tradition which teetered on the brink of extinction just twenty years ago. In 1990, Kevin was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) which recognized him as a "Master Traditional Artist who has contributed to the shaping of our artistic traditions and to preserving the cultural diversity of the United States." As a folk artist he is often characterized as being oriented from a tribal-specific background only. But Kevin draws from deep wellsprings of knowledge, distilled and refined over many generations until yielding a profound sense of the universality of the human spirit and its inclination toward harmony, balance, beauty, peace, and the sacred through movement and dance, sound and music. It is universal spirit that Kevin strives to convey through his stories, music, humor, dances and workshops. Kevin's goal is "to raise awareness of the Oneness we share as human beings." His belief in the Unity of human kind is expressed dramatically in the traditional Hoop Dance which illustrates "the roles and responsibilities that all human beings have within the hoops (or circles) of life." Touring for two decades, Kevin has performed and lectured in more nearly 80 countries, sharing his high vision of balance, joy and diversity. 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. "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". Since 1982, Kevin has recorded twelve albums of music and stories, most recently The First Flute, Open Circle, Keepers of the Dream, and Dream Catcher. Kevin Locke dedicates his life's work to Baha'u'llah.