The Newtown Labor Day Parade always kicks off with the rat-a-tat-tat of the drums and the flash of brass instruments as the Newtown High School Marching Band comes down the street. Salsa dancers, pipe and drum corps, the skirling of bagpipes, and banjo music have also been regular parts of the entertainment over the years. Parade-goers will experience a new kind of music this September, though, when Joseph FireCrow, of the North Cheyenne tribe of Native Americans, and an acclaimed Native American flutist, brings his indigenous music to town.

Mr FireCrow, an 18-year resident of Winsted, and former resident of Lame Deer, Montana, has received numerous awards for his music since dedicating himself to this career in 1993. He has recorded eight solo albums, and in 2013 was awarded the Native American Music Association Best Flute Recording honor for his album, Night Walk. Among the many honors Mr FireCrow has received are a Grammy nomination in 2001 in the Best Native American Music Album category, and in 2010, a Grammy, as guest artist on New Age musician David Darling’s Prayer for Compassion.

He learned to play the Native American flute as a young man.

“Then I need to try other things, and walked away from the flute for a number of years. I came back to the flute in my 30s, and I’m here to stay,” Mr FireCrow said. “Music was always my passion.”

There are major differences, he said, between the classical flute found in most orchestras and the Native American flutes that he plays.

“Native American flutes are made of wood, or sugar cane, or similar raw materials, and each one is made by hand,” said Mr FireCrow. He has handcrafted a number of the flutes that he plays, and also plays flutes crafted by other Native American flute makers. More importantly to the player and listener, he said, the Native American flute is based on a simple pentatonic scale, as opposed to the classical flute’s chromatic scale.

He plays a variety of wooden Native American flutes in various pitches and keys.

“It is amazing, the diversity of flutes. Some are bright and brash [in sound], and some are calming. Some are made to relax you, others to get you going,” he said. Parades require a brighter, livelier sound, so it is likely those flutes that Newtown parade attendees will hear on September 7. The brilliant sound of the flute and the upbeat tempo of the songs Mr FireCrow selects will be sure to draw attention, he said.

A Native American singer and drummer, as well as a flutist, Mr FireCrow said he plans to include chanting and songs in his parade performance, in addition to the solo flute music.

“A chant carries the melody of the song, with the voice used as an instrument. The power of the piece comes from the drum,” he said, in explaining the sound of the Native American music. “I’m always singing about love, about peace and calm. It is an indigenous kind of sound.”

Some listeners will find it interesting and beautiful, while others may find it interesting, but unlike anything they have ever heard before, Mr FireCrow said. Native American flute music is able to evoke strong emotions from listeners, whether one of his original pieces or a melody that is thousands of years old.

Many of the songs come from the oral tradition of his tribe, he said, handed down by the elders. The most ancient of songs are known to “the people” as Wolf Songs.

“They are songs of love and affection, and you learn them when you learn to play the Native American flute,” said Mr FireCrow. Listeners may hear the influence of blues or world music in his original works, he said, as his music does cross into other genres, at times.

The music, the flutes, and the people continue to be a living tradition, he said, and a tradition that he is proud to share.

He is excited to be a part of the Newtown Labor Day Parade, the first Connecticut parade in which he has taken part.

“The flute has been around for centuries. As a Native American performer, you want more people to hear this, especially in mainstream America. I want to take part [in the parade] to have our presence be seen in the community, and to add to the peace of mind that is needed in Newtown,” Mr FireCrow said.

Wearing the traditional regalia of his tribe — leggings, breech cloth, moccasins, and elk hide or a cloth ribbon shirt — Mr FireCrow will be easy to spot as his float passes by. Because the flute can be a delicate, plaintive sound, an amplifier will help send the sound soaring over the crowd.

 It is a sound that he hopes will find appreciation from the crowds lining the streets of Newtown on Labor Day. It is a gift he is able to share, he said, not only because it is his gift, but because of the support he has in his personal life.

“I give credit and honor to my people in Montana, and to my wife, Joann Moore,” he said.

To find out more about Mr Fire Crow, go to www.josephfirecrow.com. CDs of music by Joseph FireCrow will be available at the parade fair on the grounds of Newtown Middle School.