Monday Answer.
After doing only a little research I've found that there is hardly a wood that has not been used to make a flute of some sort. Generally traditional flute players of Native American style flutes because of their brighter tones prefer softwoods, and Juniper and Redwood are specifically popular. Dense wood of any type seems to hold the preference for more than a few makers/players today, but that may be because it dings less. Also, river cane, reeds and bamboo were used. Currently, non-native rainforest woods and even plastics are used for the purpose.
The web states �The tone or pitch of ancient flutes was determined by the size of the tree branch from which it was made along with the spacing of the holes. In older times the flute was very personal and measured by body parts, arm length and fist size being rough guides. Today's flutes are tuned to modern keys. The early flutes were made from the juniper family of trees including cedar. Today flutes are made of these same woods plus cherry, redwood, ash, walnut, spruce and many exotic domestic and imported woods.�
So far, the list I've discovered of the Indian tribes and cultures that played the flute includes Anasazi, Apache, Arapaho, Bannock, Blackfoot, Cahuilla, Cayuga, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Comanche, Cree, Creek, Crow, Chumash, Hopi, Hualapai, Huron, Iroquois, Kakapo, Kiowa, Mojave, Navajo, Nez Perce, Ojibay, Omaha, Osage, Ottawa, Paiute, Papago, Pawnee, Pima, Seminole , Seneca, Shasta, Shawnee, Shoshone, Sioux, Taos, Tarahumara, Ute, Winnebago, Yakima, Yana, Yaqui, Yuma, Zuni and many other lesser known tribes. Only five of these have Eastern roots and the Seminole is the only deep south clan (maybe the Cherokee depending on your definition of deep south).
Most makers of today's flutes, craft flutes in styles or types that they refer to as something other than Plains flutes and many claim these styles have a long history back into the historic period. The problem with this is that I�ve found no historic examples further back than the mid 1800s. They may very well make different styles of flutes, but they were developed in relatively modern times and with the exception of one ancient Hopewell (200BC-400AD) bone whistle the remainder seem to have the dual air chambered Plains flute as their ancestor.
Tradition says that the flute was a �courting instrument� and that once used successfully it had to be put away in order to prevent another person from being captured by the sound (shades of Jason and the Argonauts, and Odysseus, and the haunting sounds of the Sirens). The North American flute instrument almost died out owing to restrictive �indian schools�, where it could not be made or played, and afterwards, it being uncool through the 1960�s. Also, by tradition, the songs on the flute were personal (a sort of tonal signature) and could not be played by another unless �gifted� to another flute player by the �owner�.
Flutes were supposed to come by way of the southwest and spread eastward but there is evidence that the east had flutes prior to the recorded information of the Southwest. In the early 1600�s George Percy and Capt. John Smith both wrote of flutes �made of reed�. Smith wrote in 1607 �For their musicke they use thick cane, of which they pipe as a Recorder.�
If you have further interest you can type in "Native American Flutes" on any browser. The web offers much information on Native American Flutes as well as examples of the sounds that can be achieved on them.