As Eric Herrera approached an elderly Cherokee man playing a native flute, he felt compelled to stop. "It was one of the most beautiful instruments I had ever heard," said Herrera, 46, a Parker resident who hails from Southern California. "And as a musician, it was an instrument I knew I had to play."

That was seven years ago. Learning the native flute came naturally to Herrera. But two years after he took up the instrument, the importance of his playing took a dramatic turn. It was a year after his father passed away when his brother told him news that changed his life. Herrera discovered their grandmother on his father's side was a Blackfeet Indian.

"We never knew, because Dad never told us," Herrera said. "It was like a part of me that lay dormant all my life, and when it surfaced, I felt complete." His affinity for the native flute took on new meaning. "That's when everything began to make sense," said Herrera, also known as Many Winds. "I continued to play not only to comfort audiences with my music, but also to honor my people, grandmother and heritage." Recently, Herrera had the opportunity to perform at the Denver Buffalo Feast and Honoring Ceremony, a multitribal event, in front of 1,000 people.

He still considers it the highest honor he's received. "I didn't say much after the ceremony because I was so moved," Herrera said. "I'll never forget a little old woman who came up to me after hearing me play with tears in her eyes and said, 'You play with native heart; your grandmother is happy.' " Although Herrera works full time as director for ICG's network operations center, he wouldn't mind playing full time.

For the past year he has performed regularly at The Fort restaurant in Morrison. Holly Arnold Kinney, co- owner of the restaurant, which is styled after an 1840s-era fur-trading outpost, says Herrera's music moves people because it comes from his heart. "You can hear sorrow and beauty hauntingly communicated," said Kinney.

"He touches part of the human experience that many people cannot." One of the first tribes to play the flute was the Ute tribe in southern Utah. Originally, it was used by young men learning to play the sounds of nature during courtship. It was passed down to tell stories and for ceremonial use. Although the flute can be made from hard and soft woods, cedar is one of the most sought-after materials. Native Americans believe cedar grows where the wind and the spirits congregate. Herrera says one reason people are so comforted by native flute playing is because it is "music that cradles the heart." The melodies are soft and fluid - never harsh. "When couples come into the restaurant arguing, they hear the native flute and forget about everything else," Herrera said.

 During each song, Herrera has a story in mind. He plays whatever he's feeling. Last year, on Sept. 11, a table of friends wept to his rendition of "Amazing Grace." "I had my eyes closed, so I didn't know they were crying, but later I found out they were there to remember those they had lost," Herrera said. "If I can touch others with my music and do it while honoring my people, then maybe that's why I'm here."