For years, Juan Cano’s sister has been trying to get him to bring his band to Haskell Indian Nations University.

“She’s been telling me to come here and see everything that was going on, so now we’re here,” Cano said of Ruth Kelly, who lives in Lawrence and is a recent Haskell graduate.

Members of the Native American rock band Clan/destine perform at the new Cultural Arts Center and Museum at Haskell Indian Nations University. The band visited and performed Wednesday at the center for Upward Bound students on campus. From left are Steven Gatlin, Derrick Davis, Juan Cano, David Montour, foreground, and Pete Mello.

Cano is lead singer in the Tempe, Ariz.-based, mostly American Indian band Clan/destine.

The six-member group spent much of the noon hour Wednesday performing a set of acoustic songs at the Haskell Cultural Center and Museum. The impromptu concert drew about 45 students and staff.

Clan/destine later performed at Stu’s Midtown, 925 Iowa.

Cano, who grew up on the White Mountain Apache reservation in Northern Arizona, welcomed the chance to play at Haskell.

“This is the modern place where (Indian) nations meet, where people come to learn,” he said. “For generations, Indian people learned by spoken word whatever stories were handed down by their parents and grandparents. Now, they can keep that tradition alive but come to Haskell for the higher education kind of learning.

“As a musician and as an artist, I want to show my support for the ‘new way,'” he said. “It’s something we can do without losing who we are.”

Together since 1996, Clan/destine has performed throughout the United State and Europe.

“We play a lot of different kinds of music,” said David Montour, singer, bassist and flutist. “It may be rock or country, jazz or reggae, but it always has an Indian feel to it.”

Montour, a Potawatomi, is a former artist-in-residence at the Heard Museum in Phoenix. He is a carver and sculptor.

The group also features Derrick Davis, a Hopi-Choctaw and four-time world champion hoop dancer whose father, Ralph Davis, attended Haskell.

Plans call for Clan/destine returning to Lawrence for an appearance coinciding with the Haskell Indian Art Market Sept. 14-15.