"I remember having a passion for it as a teenager," she said. "It was more of a spiritual change for me. I think Native American art is beautiful and I love collecting it, but it was more about the culture that drew me in."
Kirkconnell makes no secret about her spirituality. She said she quit her lucrative career in the cosmetics industry to spend a year doing community service--all because God told her to.
Kirkconnell has participated in flute circles, drum circles and has taught people of all ages how to sing traditional Native songs.
She liked the idea of opening her store in Brooksville because of the presence of so many descendants of tribes in the area.
2 comments:
By drum circles, do they mean powwow style drum circles? Or do you suspect it's the bring-your-own-drum hippie style drum circle they're talking about?
I like the spread of traditional arts even by people who are not ethnically from those traditions. (The surge in Irish dancing by non-Irish folks, when the traditional aspects are focused on rather than showmanship, is pretty cool, for example.) So if she's actually doing it that way--focusing on traditional art/music styles--rather than the New Agey way (which tends to be less rooted in actual tradition), that's pretty cool.
I don't know what kind of drum circles they are. The original article didn't say.
I don't mind non-Natives helping to spread Native cultures. I'm obviously doing that myself with my comics and website.
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