I Am NOT a Native American

I received a letter from the Indian Arts and Crafts Board in Washington,  D.C. calling it to my attention that the flutes on the Etsy website may be misrepresented as being "Native American". There are considerable hefty fines (and even jail time) assigned to anyone knowingly trying to misrepresent their work as being Native American or tribal when the creator of such items is not a descendant or member of a tribe. I immediately made a clarification on the site which I include here:

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE:
THE FLUTES MADE FOR THIS SITE ARE NOT NATIVE-AMERICAN MADE. THESE FLUTES ARE NOT INTENDED TO BE REPRESENTED AS MADE BY A MEMBER OF ANY EXTANT OR NON-EXTANT NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBE. THESE FLUTES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS "IN THE STYLE OF" NATIVE AMERICAN FLUTES IN THEIR VARIOUS TUNINGS. PERSONS DESIRING NATIVE-MADE FLUTES SHOULD LOOK ELSEWHERE.


I also removed any search tags or keywords that suggest any tribal affiliation.


Now, first of all, I was enormously depressed that anyone would have ever think that I was trying to "cash in" on the name of any Native American tribe or culture. There haven't been any Anasazi people since 1300 A.D., and even the name given to that culture is a combination of two Dine ("Navajo") words that refer to the group in less than friendly terms.
I was originally drawn to the Anasazi-style flute precisely because it was so ancient and I was looking for an instrument that had no "method" or set playing style. That I entered into making them and sharing them with so many people was completely guided by an urge to share this discovery for the joy of making music. Only a few times in my life have I purposely set out to do something with complete determination: the first, when I asked my dear wife to marry me, the second, when we bought our 2nd house where we plan to stay, and this little endeavor of flute-making which I have greatly enjoyed.

Just to make it clear to anyone who reads this: If you ever thought I was representing myself as a member of a Native American tribe, please be advised that I am not, nor have not ever  have tried to represent myself as such. My apologies to anyone who thought otherwise.


If my modifications for the sake of mollifying the Indian Arts and Crafts Board are not deemed sufficient, I will no longer participate in this activity.