You're Going to Like our Peace Day
Program on Sunday, September 21st
One of the featured presenters at our annual celebration of the International Day of Peace this year will be Albert Gray Eagle, a noted flute artist, story teller, and creative writer.
Mr. Gray Eagle is a teaching artist for the Oklahoma Arts Council. If you have children in an Oklahoma school, they may have participated in a workshop with him. He is frequently invited to enrich the classroom experience of children in Oklahoma City and beyond.
As described on the Arts Council's website:
"Residencies with Gray Eagle may include the art of flute making and playing of the instrument while building on an understanding of history relevant to the Native American. He may provide storytelling for both children and adults that offer a perspective and philosophy of Native American culture of the past and present. Through his artistic talents and gentle nature for teaching, participants will be guided to develop their creative and artistic selves. As a U.S. Army veteran, Gray Eagle performs frequently for veterans events."
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| Read more about Gray Eagle at the NewsOK.com website: "Tuneful tradition: Albert Gray Eagle's flute music entertains, teaches" by Brandy McDonnell |
Mr. Gray Eagle hasn't always been a teaching artist. In 1973, at the age of 17, he joined the U.S. Army. After completing his military service, he worked for a dozen years as an office manager. Then another 12 years as a truck driver.
But the flute has been his passion for many years.
Born in Colorado, Mr. Gray Eagle grew up in a Native American family. He is of Oglala, Cheyenne and Apache descent.
As a teen, Gray Eagle's great-uncle John Eagle showed him how to make and play flutes.
"He told me God gives you all kinds of gifts inside your soul, and you'll learn to respect them when you unwrap them. And you won't know what they are until you unwrap them," he said.
Beyond his workshops in Oklahoma schools, Gray Eagle has been a popular entertainer at the Red Earth Festival, at the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, and at other public and private performances.
Gray Eagle has won praise from educators across the state. Mike Woods, superintendent of Fargo Public Schools, has said:
"He exemplifies the good of Oklahoma, the heritage we have here, the quality of the people we have here."
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| Enjoy a 2-minute YouTube video featuring Albert Gray Eagle's voice and flute. "The Lord's Prayer in Cheyenne" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5byHU3FC4nM |
Gray Eagle often performs with his friend and collaborator, Matheson Hamilton, a story teller and creative writer.
We expect that Mr. Hamilton will join Gray Eagle at our Peace Day event on September 21st. They will perform together, with Hamilton offering a poem or other reading while Gray Eagle plays the flute.
At his website, Gray Eagle explains his motivation for teaching:
"With the air we breathe we choose whether to say something nice to someone or to be mean and create hate. We would rather have the people we teach create an instrument and use the air they breath to create music; allowing them to express who they are as individuals through their artwork, and hopefully through this introduction, give them the opportunity to express themselves through a universal language."
Through his workshops, Gray Eagle inspires his students -- young and old, alike -- to:
• Develop imagination and craftsmanship• Explore cultural heritage
• Learn patience and respect for others
• Learn to work together as a team
We hope you will join us at our celebration of the International Day of Peace:
Sunday, September 21st -- 6:30pm
The Great Hall of the University Center
Oklahoma City University
2501 N. Blackwelder, OKC
This free program is co-sponsored by Joy Mennonite Church, the Oikos Scholars program of Oklahoma City University, the Center for Conscience in Action, the Peace House, the Oklahoma City group of Pax Christi USA, the Respect Diversity Foundation, and by your Oklahoma City chapter of the United Nations Association of the USA.
"Together, let us demand the right of peoples to peace."
--Ban Ki-moon
UN Secretary-General
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