Daniel Bigay is a flute maker, artist, performer/recording artist,
and demonstrator. He is also an enrolled member of the Echota
Cherokee tribe and member of the Indian Arts and Crafts Association
(http://www.iaca.com). He has been making traditional Native American
art for over 25 years, and have been making Native American Flutes
full time for the last 10 years. His flutes has won awards at
many Native Art shows and powwows, including the Five Civilized
Tribes Museum in Muskogee, OK, the Rankokus American Indian Art
show in Rancocus, NJ, the Spirit of America Native American Art
show in Atlanta, GA, and CIAC Indian Arts Expo, Merrillville,
IN. Additionally, he’s created replicas of ancient flutes and
artifacts for museums. Bigay’s flutes are played by many nationally
known Native American recording artists including Bill Miller,
Tommy Wildcat, Jeff Ball, Ed Three Eagles, Lowery Begay, Adrian
Wall, and others.
As a performer, Bigay has two CD’s that have been nationally released.
The most recent release received a nomination for best flute recording
at the 2005 Indian Summer Music Awards. He has appeared as a performer
or demonstrator at numerous native art shows, powwows, and schools.
Mountain Spirit Flutes been featured in newspapers and on TV.
Bigay is involved in the local schools (providing educational
information about flutes and southeastern Indians), flute making
demonstrations, and flute workshops. His is active in his small
local art community on Viking Mountain, where he lives a simple
life that is closely connected to family, friends, neighbors,
his culture, and nature. Mountain Spirit Flutes hopes this is
reflected in the quality of their flutes and regalia items.
Daniel Bigay
Native Flutes
"This is one guy you should really go walk around in the woods
with. Danny is truly like a brother to me. I had to follow him
down his path a little to find my own and for a time while he
and I were living in a tipi on a farm in North Georgia, He carried
me when no one else could. This was one of the most important
times in my life. Danny was (and still is) truly a mountain man
(man of the mountains) and he has been a great teacher to me in
many ways.
I made my first pieces of twig furniture from birch branches he
had gathered in the Adirondacks in the days when he was first
starting to make flutes in his little no electricity workshop
beside the creek, with the horses and the wolves . . . this man's
craft is rooted in his spirit. His flutes play like a dream and
sound like only Danny Bigay flutes do. Learn more about life at
the Mountain Spirit Flutes web site." - Lee Walker