Smoke Signals 7
Flute Class Reaches Out To Elders, Young People And Everybody In Between
Tribal member Jan Michael Reibach teaches, while his music career begins to gain ground.
JANUARY 15, 2004
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Sharing Wisdom Jan Michael Reibach, tries out Tribal mem
ber student Clyde Stryker's flute during Reibach's class, which he
teaches at the community center in Grand Ronde. The 20 or so
students learn about the history and origins of the flute before being
taught how to play from Reibach, who has gained a reputation for his
Native flute music recently.
ByPetaTinda
Tribal member Jan Michael Reibach, has been
teaching a flute making class recently, in an effort
to spread the knowledge of traditional Native flutes
with the hope that others will share in the healing
and teaching that he receives from flute playing.
"The flute class has been really great," he said.
"The feedback has been really good and I am con
tinuing the second part of the class this month,"
said Reibach.
Over 20 people have enrolled in the class so far, in
cluding five Tribal youths and as many Tribal Elders.
The class, which is held during the evening at the
community center in Grand Ronde, has a complex
syllabus that includes audio and visual presenta
tions as well as text in the form of handouts.
There are also four different books
that Reibach sites as references when
he teaches the class.
In addition, each student is given his
or her own ce
dar flute as part
of the class.
At first the
students learn
about the his
tory and origin
of the Native
flute, which is one of the oldest musical
instruments in existence. Flutes over
60,000 years old have been found, mak
ing it the third oldest known instrument.
"A lot of people are under the impres
sion that only plains and southwest In
dians had flutes, but all Tribes had
some form of flutes... my Tribe, the
Kalapuya, played river reed flutes," said
Reibach.
After the stu
dents have learned
about the origins
and the different
types of flutes that
are out there, then
they are taught to
play the flute, during the second
part of the class.
The classes have been so well
received that Reibach has plans
to eventually teach at the col
lege level. He has been in com
munication with several univer
sities to do the classes.
According to Reibach, sales of
his recently released albums
"Peaceful Journey," and "Native
Blues," have been selling
briskly, with over 5,000 copies
sold to date. They have also
been selling in such far-flung
places as France, Germany and
Canada.
"The thought of somebody listening to my album
in Germany just blows my mind," he said.
His company, CedarFeather Productions, has suc
cessfully produced over 60
events so far with more to
come, including bringing
Native recording star Mary
Youngblood to Spirit Moun
tain Casino for a concert per
formance in May.
He has also been ap
proached while walking in the mall by fans seeking
his autograph, which he says was quite a surprise
for him.
Despite all of this, Reibach remains modest.
"It's really important for people to understand that
it's not about being successful, it's not about money,
it's about music," Reibach explained.
"The flute doesn't belong to me," he said. "I feel it's
about sharing our culture in a way that people can
understand and see us in a good, positive way."
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Art A student's collection of flutes are not only musical
instruments, but works of art as well. The flute is one of the
Instruments featured in Reibach's latest album, "Native
Blues," at right, which has generated a considerable buzz in
Native music circles, including it possibly being nominated
by the Native American Music Awards for "Best New Artist."
.11 MwJ
Young Tribal Member Reaches Back To His Ancestors For Musical Inspiration
14 year-old Harris Reibach will release "Snow Owl" on his brother's record label.
By Peta Tinda
Grand Ronde Tribal member Harris
Reibach, a soft-spoken youth in his
freshman year at Willamina High
School, has a gift that goes far beyond his
fourteen years, all the way back to his ances
tors of thousands of years ago.
Reibach plays the Native flute. He started
about six months ago, but has already shown
enough talent for a song he composed him
self, called "Snow Owl," to be released this
spring on his older brother's record label
CedarFeather Productions.
Harris's father is Tribal Council member Jan
D. Reibach, his mother is Janet Reibach and
his grandfather is Harris Reibach.
When asked why he started playing the
flute, he replied: "I just tried it and liked it...
I like how the notes sound really clean," he
said.
"...When you pick it up it's got like a feeling
to it, you know?"
Harris is like a lot of Native kids his age. He
enjoys playing basketball, likes hanging out
with his friends and he dances at pow-wows
in the summer. He's also a member of the
Willamina High School Native American Club.
But he seems to have deeper understand
ing of what goes into playing the flute tradi
tionally. "I get my inspiration from nature," he said.
"Because it's peaceful; like the flute. If you're
having a stressful day you can sit down and
play the flute and it just makes you forget
about everything."
His songs often conjure intense visual imag
ery. For his song "Snow Owl" he pictured an owl,
flying over a snowy forest, and the notes just
came out.
"That's how a lot of people get names for their
songs," he said.
Harris's musical influences range from the
popular drum group Black Lodge Singers, to old
school hip-hop, to new school rappers like Xzibit.
He also gets lots of encouragement from his
older brother, Jan Reibach.
"He's the base of what I look up to and what I
do musically. Without him, I couldn't have cut
that track, or done any of that other stuff," he
explained.
Harris believes that it doesn't matter what age
you are as long you're committed to what you
are doing.
"Even though I'm young, I put just as much
into it as anyone else."
Harris said he wants to continue to pursue
music and one of his goals is to eventually put
his own album out, with an emphasis on tradi
tional songs.
"When I play the flute, I want it to sound real
traditional, like it did thousands of years ago."
He considers playing the flute to be a way of
connecting with his ancestors.
"It's cool to think that the flute is still carrying
on after thousands of years," he said.
"Even though the world's changed a lot since
then." O
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He Likes Rap & Hip Hop Too Tribal
member Harris Reibach, a young musician who
recently recorded a track to be released this spring
on an album by CedarFeather Productions.