Suzy Bottomley, third from left, sprinkles tobacco on a Native American drum to bless the instrument and to send her prayers heavenward before drummers, from left, Rick Dobson, Roger Lame Owl Simmons, Grandmother Prairie Walker, Bill Windwalker Wentworth, Jennifer Dobson and Vickie Dobson performed a healing song during the first Learning Circle in Norway Sunday. "The learning circle is where elders speak and tell about the customs of their tribe," said Simmons, who was teaching attendees about the Native American flute. The circle was put together by Wentsworth, who hopes to host a circle at the First Universalist Church of Norway every two weeks. The next learning circle will be on March 17.

"The flute is played from the heart," Roger Lame Owl Simmons of Swanville said at the first traditional Native American learning circle in Norway Sunday. Simmons not only plays the two-chambered Native American flute, but he handcrafts the instruments as well.