How do you keep culture alive? Do you treat it like a specimen in a Petri dish — closely guarded in protected, sterile environments? Do you assimilate it with larger forces that threaten to dilute its identity?

It’s not an idle question, particularly for musicians struggling to balance their mission to perform music from a culture that inspires them with the practical need to make it palatable for audiences from varied backgrounds. Native American artists face an additional quandary: They’ve been increasingly lumped into the New Age category, as myriad New Age artists have selectively co-opted Native American spiritual teachings — and, in the process, watered down the heart and sound of traditional Native American music, much of which is built around wood flutes and simple percussion. (One exception is singer-songwriter Bill Miller, a Mohican from Wisconsin who’s carved out a respected folk-rock niche.) Most “Native American” recordings are slick with reverberating synthesizers and programmed drums that bear little resemblance to the acoustic instrumentation still heard at powwows.

Which circles back to that original question: How do you keep culture alive?

Kevin Locke’s answer seems to be to take it to the children.

Locke, who grew up on the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in South Dakota, comes from the Hunkpapa band of the Lakota Sioux and the Anishinabe tribe. He learned Lakota only after he came of age — rebelling against early, misguided school policies that forbade Native American children from speaking their own tongue. His Lakota name, Tokaheya Inajin, translates as “the first to arise.” While he’s not the first to celebrate his heritage or share it with the world, he’s one of the savvy few to make a career at it. He keeps a full calendar touring schools nationwide, teaching children about hoop dancing, Native American music, sign language and storytelling.

The feathered and beaded costumes, ritual dances and songs honoring animals help place the music in context, which hopefully imbues it with more meaning. And the visual flash may be necessary to hold the attention of contemporary kids. But the sonic center of Locke’s music is much less elaborate.

Locke’s new CD “Earth Gift,” out Tuesday on the Ixtlan label, is built around the Native flute, sometimes known as cedar flute, a remarkably simple yet emotionally affecting instrument. Producer/percussionist Tom Wasinger wisely chose to surround Locke with instruments evocative of the 18th century, like the nail violin and marxophone (an early version of the zither), and sampled reverb programs of canyons and caverns. The result is more stripped-down music that’s truer to the heart of Native American culture. That may not be flashy enough for kids hooked on Hannah Montana. But for music lovers open to new/old sounds, the Native flute is worth celebrating on its own merits.

Locke and the Kevin Locke Native American Dance Ensemble give two matinee performances at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the W.M. Keck Foundation Children’s Amphitheatre at Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown LA. Call (213) 972-8000 for details. kevinlocke.com.