By Chevi Rabbit, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News (ANNews) \u2013 The flute, one of the oldest instruments known to humankind, has long carried stories through generations. The Indigenous flute held particular importance in courtship, ceremony, and storytelling. Today, Cree flutist Mark Taylor continues that legacy, mastering both the craft and the music, and sharing it with audiences across Edmonton. \u201cI grew up in Treaty 5, just outside of Winnipeg, in a small town called Selkirk, Manitoba. I did not grow up on a reserve,\u201d Taylor recalled. \u201cWhen my father and his siblings were being taken to residential school, my grandmother \u2013 who had attended residential school herself \u2013 told them to go hide. They ran into the bush and hid. A lot of my family didn\u2019t go back… <\/p>\n
By Chevi Rabbit, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News (ANNews) \u2013 The flute, one of the oldest instruments known to humankind, has long carried stories through generations. The Indigenous flute held particular importance in courtship, ceremony, and storytelling. Today, Cree flutist Mark Taylor continues that legacy, mastering both the craft and the music, and sharing it with audiences across Edmonton. \u201cI grew up in Treaty 5, just outside of Winnipeg, in a small town called Selkirk, Manitoba. I did not grow up on a reserve,\u201d Taylor recalled. \u201cWhen my father and his siblings were being taken to residential school, my grandmother \u2013 who had attended residential school herself \u2013 told them to go hide. They ran into the bush and hid. A lot of my family didn\u2019t go back... <\/p>\n