Raised in a family of musicians, Melissa Little Wolf Villalobos was introduced to Native American music by her elders. She first heard the sounds of Native American flautist R. Carols Nakai, of Navajo and Ute heritage, when she was 5 years old. Nakai’s music has been a big influence on her own journey playing and performing on the flute.
“After hearing flute for the first time, I recall how peaceful and powerful it made me feel,” she says. “What inspired me to pick up the flute instrument was to discover a unique talent of my own. The flute was an extension of my voice that I have always longed for.”
A Kumeyaay descendant of the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, she is a self-taught musician specializing in the Native American flute and demonstrating her commitment to preserving the cultural and generational traditions of her community. From 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, she’s performing at the Museum of Photographic Arts at the San Diego Museum of Art. There, she’ll be surrounded by the contemporary photography of Cara Romero, a member of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, in “The Artist Speaks: Cara Romero.”
Little Wolf, 36, says that her name was called to her after discovering the similarities between this spirit animal and herself. “Just like the wolf, I have always had a wild spirit, a longing to run free, and an immense hunger for life and nature,” she says. “I am loyal, protective, strong, resilient, wise, intuitive, instinctual, and have a powerful ability to see the unseen.”
She took some time to talk about her performance, her connection with Romero’s photography, and her work to provide healing to people through her music. (This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)
Q: Your performance at the Museum of Photographic Arts at the San Diego Museum of Art, takes place in the gallery featuring the exhibition, “The Artist Speaks: Cara Romero,” whose work as a Native American contemporary fine art photographer is focused on representing her culture, history, and experiences as a Native American woman. Have you visited the exhibition and seen the photos? Are there any photos from this exhibition that resonate with you?
A: I recently performed at the San Diego Museum of Art exhibition on May 30, and had the privilege to witness the photographic art by Cara Romero. The photo that truly resonated with me was “Oil & Gold, 2021.” In this photo, Romero mentioned the starting point of the California Indian genocide. Through colonization, and layers of industries, the Indigenous people of California have been stripped of their inherent rights. She spoke about the 19 tribes along the coast of California that never received their federal recognition in the mid-1800s. This was due to the state of California failing to ratify treaties; and, without mistake, these tribal lands were nestled within regions rich with gold and oil. In 1870, my tribe was involved in colonization and displacement due to gold pioneering. My tribe suffered broken treaties and tribal disenrollment by a corrupt tribal government. We risked the threat of banishment of our ancestral heritage and of our people. (Recently), after over a century of battling disenrollment and decades of legal research, when my people legally fought our way back into our tribe and ancestral land. “Oil & Gold, 2021” was a reminder of how many tribes throughout the Native Nations have not been as lucky and are still battling colonization, broken treaties, and the destruction of land by oil companies. Romero’s photo was a perfect representation to me of how it feels to be Indigenous surviving in our world today.
Q: Has Romero’s work informed any aspects of the way you’re planning your own performance, in of addressing themes of history, culture, your lived experience as a Kumeyaay woman?
A: What I loved most about Cara Romero’s work was that she highlights powerful, captivating, and fierce women through her art, which is how I view myself as a Native American performer. As a Kumeyaay woman, I felt relative to the powerful women in her images, and Cara’s work reminded me of how proud I am to be an Indigenous female artist myself.
Q: You began practicing the flute in 2014? Can you tell us a bit about the mechanics of the flute?
A: I play a variety of six-hole single, double, and triple Native American flutes. My flutes are laser crafted, each tuned to their own unique sound/key, with different types of styles and wood. My favorite wood types are Red Cedar, Spanish Cedar, Rosewood, and Walnut. Laser cutters can be very quick in the process of making flutes. However, to handcraft a custom flute depends on the type of flute and the materials used. The process typically involves cutting and shaping the material, drilling holes for the fingers, and adding keys and other components.
Q: What are some of the flutes you play and how would you describe the sound they produce?
A: (At the museum performance) I will be performing with my double and triple flutes. The double flutes are made of Red Cedar in the key of G and F sharp, and my triple flute is also a red Cedar in the key of A. I typically perform with double or triple flutes as they are a crowd favorite.
The sound produced by the flutes I play is meditative, relaxing, and peaceful. Although in my professional experience, many have said that it is hauntingly beautiful, and transmutes sound into memories or visions of nature.
Q: Can you talk about the significance of the flute in Native American culture and music?
A: The flute is one of the oldest instruments, which signifies its importance, both historically and culturally. The sound of the flute is associated with love magic, and was most frequently used as a means by which a man could convey his love.
Q: Your desire is to communicate “healing, peace, meditation, and relaxation through spiritual Native American music.” Why are these elements important to you as an artist, musician, and advocate for Indigenous culture and community?
A: It is important for me to promote healing, peace, meditation, and relaxation through my music because that is what I feel humanity needs most today. We often forget how vital these elements are for the sake of our happiness and well-being. As a Native American flautist, it is my life’s purpose to advocate for how important it is to be still, not just for the Indigenous community, but for all of mankind.
Q: Your website also says that you see your life’s work as “medicine for the people.” Are there ways that practicing and performing the flute have served as medicine for you in your own life? Are you comfortable sharing how that has taken place?
A: What truly inspired me to see my life’s work as “Medicine for the People” was witnessing what a deeply emotional experience it was for myself and for my listeners. Celebrated for its profound healing qualities, the flute has offered more healing than anything I have ever experienced. I feel as though my music is medicine, healing the spirit and connecting us all back to our hearts and our breath.
