Elemental music that heals

Last Saturday, Grammy-winning Northern Cheyenne flutist and BYU alum Joseph FireCrow filled Center Stage with the healing sounds of the wooden flute, rattle, drums and with song for a Benefit Sound Healing Concert for Sacred Hoops Healing Center in Provo. The concert included information concerning the traditional style, roots, and origins of the music.

“The style that I’ll be playing and performing is of the northern plains style from the Cheyenne people,” said FireCrow before his performance. “ It’s very beautiful, it’s very elemental as well, it’s raw, it’s quite beautiful.”

Sacred Hoops Healing Center recently opened their office in Provo to offer aid to the community of more than 7,000 Native Americans in Utah County. Some of these services include individual, teen, child, and couples counseling, supportive services, couples counseling, parenting classes, medical referrals, anger management, and skills training.

“We work on a sliding scale and also we take bishop referrals,” said Dr. Pamela Blackwell, director of Sacred Hoops Healing Center. “Right now, between all of us, we probably have a dozen clients.”

Dr. Blackwell explained that she first met FireCrow when she invited him to do a Sound Healing Workshop. She said that she found him online, unaware of his ties with Utah. Dr. Blackwell explained that FireCrow and his wife were so nice to work with that she has been looking for a reason to bring them back.

“I want to bring people like Joe, into the community,” said Dr. Blackwell. “I want people to come to having a greater appreciation for just the beauty of this culture and what they have to offer.”

When asked about how people respond to his music, FireCrow said, “They can’t believe how powerful it is, and that it’s very heartfelt and evokes strong emotions. And they’ve never experienced anything like this before. The feedback is phenomenal, very, very positive.”

FireCrow explained that the music can heal ones spirit and emotions. He also mentioned that he does not take that response for granted.

“It keeps me humble,” said FireCrow, “about the gift that has been given to me, as I express in words and music the social songs of my people, I must pay respect to my elders.”