John Two-Hawks
Encyclopedia
John Two-Hawks is an Oglala
Lakota Native American
musician who has been performing professionally in live concerts since the early 1990s. He sings and plays many instruments, but is best known as a pioneer and virtuoso player of the Native American flute
. To date, he has produced sixteen CD recordings and a DVD, and has also written a number of books filled with Native American wisdom to accompany some of his CDs. He often guest lectures for schools and universities on Native American history and culture, and he has shared time with Presidents, Senators and Movie Stars as a featured speaker.
He is featured as the Native American vocalist and cedar flute player for the song "Creek Mary's Blood" on the Nightwish
album Once
. He also appeared on Nightwish's End of an Era
CD/DVD, a recording of their live performance in Helsinki
, Finland
on October 21, 2005. There he performed "Stone People" from his album Honor as a prelude for "Creek Mary's Blood", which he then performed with the band in front of a sold-out audience of 12,000. It is to be noted that Nightwish never plays the song without Two-Hawks.
Other collaborations include concerts and recordings with Celtic singer and flutist
Seamus Byrne, classical guitarist Sir Charles Hammer
, pianist Bastiaan Pot and guitarist/bass player Van Adams. He composed and performed the music and sound effects for the accompanying audio CD for a children's book by Sicangu Lakota writer Joseph M. Marshall III
and Yankton Sioux illustrator Joseph Chamberlain. Two-Hawks was also the co-producer of the book. John Two-Hawks was the featured musician in the musical score for the HBO production of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
which originally aired in May 2007. The musical score by George S. Clinton which featured Two-Hawks' music, earned one of 17 Emmy nominations, and was released as a soundtrack CD in 2007. Primarily, however, Two-Hawks is a solo artist. While his compositions often include many different instruments, he plays all of them himself.
John Two-Hawks presently lives in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas.
Oglala Lakota
The Oglala Lakota or Oglala Sioux are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people; along with the Nakota and Dakota, they make up the Great Sioux Nation. A majority of the Oglala live on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the eighth-largest Native American reservation in the...
Lakota Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
musician who has been performing professionally in live concerts since the early 1990s. He sings and plays many instruments, but is best known as a pioneer and virtuoso player of the Native American flute
Native American flute
The Native American flute has achieved some measure of fame for its distinctive sound, used in a variety of New Age and world music recordings. The instrument was originally very personal; its music was played without accompaniment in courtship, healing, meditation, and spiritual rituals. Now it...
. To date, he has produced sixteen CD recordings and a DVD, and has also written a number of books filled with Native American wisdom to accompany some of his CDs. He often guest lectures for schools and universities on Native American history and culture, and he has shared time with Presidents, Senators and Movie Stars as a featured speaker.
He is featured as the Native American vocalist and cedar flute player for the song "Creek Mary's Blood" on the Nightwish
Nightwish
Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee, Finland. Formed in 1996 by songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former vocalist Tarja Turunen, Nightwish's current line-up has five members, although Tarja has been replaced by Anette Olzon and the...
album Once
Once (Nightwish album)
Once is the fifth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on June 7, 2004 by Nuclear Blast and on November 24 by Spinefarm, with the US release on October 5 by Roadrunner Records. In an interview, Tuomas Holopainen said that it is up to the listener to find out the meaning...
. He also appeared on Nightwish's End of an Era
End of an Era
End of an Era is a DVD and double CD from Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. Nuclear Blast recorded their live performance at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland on October 21, 2005, the final concert of a long worldwide tour for their album Once...
CD/DVD, a recording of their live performance in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
on October 21, 2005. There he performed "Stone People" from his album Honor as a prelude for "Creek Mary's Blood", which he then performed with the band in front of a sold-out audience of 12,000. It is to be noted that Nightwish never plays the song without Two-Hawks.
Other collaborations include concerts and recordings with Celtic singer and flutist
Seamus Byrne, classical guitarist Sir Charles Hammer
Charles Christian Hammer
Charles Christian "Sir Charles" Hammer, , was an American classical guitarist.Charles Christian Hammer was born in Chicago, Illinois. Hammer took up the guitar in his youth after hearing The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. He purchased his first guitar with earnings from a newspaper route...
, pianist Bastiaan Pot and guitarist/bass player Van Adams. He composed and performed the music and sound effects for the accompanying audio CD for a children's book by Sicangu Lakota writer Joseph M. Marshall III
Joseph M. Marshall III
Joseph M. Marshall III is a Lakota historian, writer, teacher, craftsman, administrator, and public speaker. His first language is Lakota. He can craft a Lakota bow in the traditional style, has helped found a hospital and a university, and makes his home on the Northern Plains with his wife...
and Yankton Sioux illustrator Joseph Chamberlain. Two-Hawks was also the co-producer of the book. John Two-Hawks was the featured musician in the musical score for the HBO production of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (film)
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is a 2007 television film adapted from the book of the same name by Dee Brown. The film was written by Daniel Giat, directed by Yves Simoneau and produced by HBO Films. The book on which the movie is based is a history of Native Americans in the American West in the...
which originally aired in May 2007. The musical score by George S. Clinton which featured Two-Hawks' music, earned one of 17 Emmy nominations, and was released as a soundtrack CD in 2007. Primarily, however, Two-Hawks is a solo artist. While his compositions often include many different instruments, he plays all of them himself.
John Two-Hawks presently lives in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas.
Discography
- Red and Blue Days (2000)
- Voices (June 2000)- with Anne Panther Woman
- Good Medicine (March 2001) - has an accompanying book
- Traditions (September 2001) - with Manach (Seamus Byrne)
- Heal (July 2002)
- Peace on Earth (November 2003) - Christmas music
- Honor (March 2004)
- Wild Eagles DVD (2004) - part of the Cedar Lake Nature DVD series
- Signature Series 2-CD Set (April 2005)
- How Not To Catch Fish and Other Adventures of IktomiIktomiIn Lakota mythology, Iktomi is a spider-trickster spirit, and a culture hero for the Lakota people. Alternate names for Iktomi include Ikto, Ictinike, Inktomi, Unktome, and Unktomi...
(June 2005) - a children's book by Joseph M. Marshall III that comes with a bonus audio CD. - Beauty Music (2006) - with Seamus Byrne and Sir Charles Hammer
- Come to the Fire (April 2006) - has an accompanying book
- Touch the Wind (2006) - with Bastiaan Pot
- Cedar Dreams (July 2007)
- Elk Dreamer (March 2008)
- of dirt and dreams (September 2008) - as The Badlanders with Van Adams
- Wind Songs (2009) 2010 Grammy Nominee
- Earth, Fire, Water, Wind (2010)