# 2022 Miami Tribe of Oklahoma General Council Meeting - June 25 > Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more. URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Amiami_oklahoma%3Af985f647a5dad087 ## Record - **Collection:** Tribal code - **Document type:** Tribal code ## Text 2022 Miami Tribe of Oklahoma General Council Meeting - June 25 Myaamia Publications - Vol. 16, No. 3 - Spring 2022 - Section A - Noošonke Siipionki Myaamionki 1972 - 2022 Miami Tribe of Oklahoma & Miami University Celebrating 50 Years of neepwaantiinki “Learning from each other.” Article on page 1B IN THIS EDITION Section A Chief’s Report 3A New First Americans Museum CREO Relocated 5A New Campground 6A New Meat Processing Facility Art Show 8A Removal Blog 9A 5A 7A Section B 50th Anniversary 1B Commemorating Removal at MU French Ambassador 3B Boarding Schools 4B Artist Highlight 7B Section C Myaamia Center 1C Births 3C Deaths 4C Education/Scholarships 8C 2B Miami Tribe of Oklahoma Chief Forest Olds, left, and Miami University President Phillip Shriver. Photo taken at Miami University during Chief Olds second visit to campus in 1974. 2A Aatotankiki Myaamiaki, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022 aatotankiki Myaamiaki MIAMI NATION NEWS is published by the Sovereign Miami Tribe of Oklahoma for our enrolled citizens. Aatotankiki Myaamiaki is distributed by mail and made available for download from the Miami Nation’s website. A single copy is mailed free of charge to each tribal household. College students living away from home may request a copy be mailed to their campus, or off-campus, address. This publication is printed in Stigler, Oklahoma by Stigler Printing. Publication design and layout is done in-house by the Miami Nation Cultural Resources Office staff. Requests for special articles or publication of community information, including births, deaths, marriages, family news, anniversaries, etc., are welcomed and encouraged. Myaamia Publications Miami Nation Cultural Resources Office P.O. Box 1326 Miami, OK 74355 918-541-1300 Email: mtocro@gmail.com Editorial Staff: Julie Olds, Scott Willard, Diane Hunter, Joshua Sutterfield, Doug Peconge, Meghan Dorey, Joe Leonard, Bobbe Burke Submission Requirements: Photos: Photos submitted electronically should be saved at a resolution of 300 dpi, sized at standard 4x6 or larger, and saved in jpg, tif, or pdf formats. Obituaries, Birth Announcements and other time sensitive submissions will be amended to show past tense text unless the family submitting the information expressly requests the text remain unaltered. 50th Anniversary of Relationship Between the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and Miami University Kara Strass Page 1B TRIBAL MEMBER ADDRESS UPDATES: Contact Tera Hatley at thatley@miamination.com or by phone 918-541-1300. REQUEST NEW CITIZEN ENROLLMENT CARDS The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma has issued a new format for its Tribal Citizen/Member Identification and Enrollment Card. The new plastic card allows for the inclusion of a photograph of the Enrolled Citizen/Member and also allows the inclusion of a Myaamia name. Tribal citizens who wish to obtain the new card should contact Tera Hatley, Member Services Manager, at thatley@miamination.com or by phone at 918-541-1324 . Advertisements: Enrolled citizens of the Miami Nation who are business owners, artists or crafts persons, etc. are eligible to receive free ad space once per year. Allotted ad size is 5” x 5” and should be sized at 300 dpi and saved as a jpg, tif or pdf file. Ad layouts, or links to download such from your Dropbox or other cloud storage site, should be emailed to mtocro@gmail.com. Miami Nation Elected Officials Chief - Douglas Lankford Second Chief - Dustin Olds Sec.-Treas. - Donya Williams 1st Councilperson - Tera Hatley 2nd Councilperson - Scott Willard MIAMI NATION HEADQUARTERS Physical/Shipping Address: 3410 P Street NW Miami, OK 74354 918-541-1300 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1326 Miami, OK 74355 CARD FRONT MYAAMIA CITIZENS STAY CONNECTED VIA INTERNET MIAMI NATION WEBSITE www.miamination.com SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES Facebook “MYAAMIAKI Miami Tribe of Oklahoma” Facebook “Aatotankiki Myaamiaki” Facebook - Public Page Listed as “Miami Nation Events” Facebook - MHMA Page “Myaamia Heritage Museum & Archive” CARD BACK Miami Nation News is on Facebook at AATOTANKIKI MYAAMIAKI-Miami Nation News 3A Aatotankiki Myaamiaki, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022 aacimwita akima: The Chief Reports Aya, aya ceeki eeweemakiki. I hope this message finds you well and safe. Here in Noošonke Siipionki Myaamionki, spring has arrived, and the voices of the thunder and the peepers have returned to bring an end to storytelling and signaled the return of lacrosse season. While we are all looking forward to getting our sticks out to play, we are most excited for the week of community events we have planned as part of our annual Myaamia National Gathering Week. Events begin on Tuesday, June 21, and end with our Pow Wow on the evening of June 25. The agenda for the week is included in this edition, and I hope many of you can travel home to enjoy this important gathering time. Before I begin this report on our Nation, I want to reflect on our year of commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the forced removal of the Miami Nation from our homeland. We have learned so much from the writings about the removal posted to our community blog by our Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Diane Hunter, and other Cultural Resources Office and Myaamia Center contributors. Reading the posts is a difficult journey back through time. And, as you read, feelings of sadness, anger, and a deeper understanding of immeasurable community loss are undeniable. To understand the story of removal is very important in developing an understanding of our continuation as a sovereign nation. I encourage all Myaamia citizens to take the time to read, or listen to, the blog entries. The knowledge waiting for you will affect you, as it has me, in numerous ways. As we left commemorating the removal anniversary, we began a new year of celebration marking the 50th anniversary of our relationship with Miami University. It was 1972 when Chief Forest Olds made an unannounced visit to the beautiful campus he had been reading about in Oxford, OH. That visit, and another in 1974, planted a seed that has grown into the unique relationship we refer to today as neepwaantiinki, partners in learning. We will celebrate the anniversary during the National Gathering Week with a presentation on the history of the relationship. By Chief Douglas Lankford, eecipoonkwia Akima Eecipoonkwia - Chief Douglas Lankford. Photo by Scott Kissell. The funding received was calculated on the number of enrolled citizens, employees, and owned land base. Tribes submitting information to the Department of Treasury received differing amounts based on certification information submitted. In addition, the Tribes received strict, narrow guidance on the use of the funds. As reported, the Business Committee appointed a CARES Act Fund Team (“CAFT”) and retained the services of an expert consultant to provide recommendations and guidance for fund expenditures. Tribal Leadership worked closely with the CAFT to ensure expenses met Department of Treasury CARES Act The annual meeting is a vital part of our constitutional Fund requirements to ensure no required repayment of CARES Act responsibility as the sovereign Miami Tribe of Oklahoma. It was Funds for non-compliant expenditures. heartening to see the Citizens who were able to make the trip in 2021. Among the unique projects made possible by the CARES Act I so needed those fist bumps, smiles, and hugs. That meeting was is the installation of tiny houses for the quarantine needs of the local planned as an outdoor event to provide social distancing safety during community during the pandemic. The homes are in the camping & the pandemic. However, due to rising numbers, it had to be held indoors RV park on the Tribe’s western facilities campus located on East 65 at the Council House. To allow for social distancing, only Tribal Road in Miami, Oklahoma. The funding also provided much-needed citizens were allowed into the meeting. Again, we are looking forward remodeling of the Ethel Miller Moore Cultural Education Center to our General Council meeting on June 25, 2022, and are confident we (longhouse) for virtual/distance learning programs in Myaamia history, will be back to full meeting capacity inside the Council House. culture, and language. With these projects, another stand-out addition Growth seems to be a constant for our Nation. We now is a new meat processing plant located on the Chief David Geboe number over 6,000 enrolled citizens, manage over 2,100 acres of allotment in the north-central portion of the Myaamia Reservation in land and employ over 100 people in Tribal programs and projects. Oklahoma. We also employ over 5,000 people in our Tribal businesses operated Additionally, the Business Committee was concerned about by Miami Nation Enterprises. It seems we are in constant growth, Miami citizens financially impacted by COVID-19. Because a general and our Leadership works hard to address the community, space, and disbursement was not allowable with CARES Act funds, Leadership employment challenges that come with growth and expansion. was able to authorize the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma General Welfare To address some office space needs, we have relocated several Ordinance and structure grants for tribal members to apply for offices from the old headquarters building on the east side of Miami assistance for needs as a direct result of COVID-19. Through the Public to our new Tribal headquarters located on P. Street in the Myaamia Health Emergency Family Assistance Program members impacted Reservation area. The CCDF Program, Social Services Office, and by COVID-19 were able to request a grant to offset COVID-related Tribal Tag Office are now inside Tribal Headquarters. In addition, expenses. we have converted the old activity center to the new Mildred Walker As you will recall, on March 11, 2021, President Biden signed Cultural Resources Center. This location houses the Cultural Resources the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which provides for the distriOfficer, Assistant Cultural Resources Officer, Cultural Education bution of federal fiscal recovery funding to states, tribal governments, Director, and Section 106 Data Management Clerk. It is also the metropolitan cities, counties, and local governments. Use of this fundtemporary office location for our Environmental Quality Department. ing is governed by and must comply with federal guidelines, which are An existing building will soon be renovated to meet their office and extensive and require that funds be obligated by 2023 and expended laboratory needs. by 2026. Leadership and the Tribe’s ARPA Team have worked hard to In government and business concerns, the drop in the pandemic identify the COVID-related needs of the Tribe and its citizens and have numbers, and challenges from the struggling economy bring positive initiated to date the following projects or expenditures: Grant funds to and negative concerns to be addressed. In the months since I supplied enrolled tribal citizens who submit the appropriate Miami Tribe apa report in our last newspaper, I, along with our elected Tribal leaders, plication for assistance; Myaamia Center Grant to Mahkihkiwa – Myhave committed significant time to the accounting and accurate applicaaamia Ethnobotanical Database Development Project and the Pilwisi tion of federal funding received as pandemic relief for the Tribe. neepewaanki “Learn from Afar” Myaamia Web Portal Project; funding As we reported in the previous edition, in May and June of 2020, to augment ICDBG funds for the construction of a Cultural Center/ the Tribe received Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act Archive; strategic plan funding; Title VI supplement funds; PPP, clean(“CARES Act”) Funds from the Department of Treasury in response to ing and rapid test supplies; software licenses to enhance working from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on the Tribe and its members. Continued on page 4A Please watch the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma Facebook page and website for updates on National Gathering Week events. On Facebook at MYAAMIAKI Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and via website at miamination.com. 4A Aatotankiki Myaamiaki, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022 aacimwita akima: The Chief Reports By Chief Douglas Lankford - Continued from Page 3A home and distance learning; additional staffing positions for education, City Officials have been so supportive. The collaboration between the social services, and accounting; Indiana property purchase for food tribes, County, and city to address the McGirt problems is truly unique sustainability program; a grant to Ottawa County for County jail renonot only to Oklahoma but across Indian Country. To date, there have vations. This funding is essential as we, and all Tribes, work to recover been several very productive meetings resulting in the Miami Tribe crefrom the pandemic and its far-reaching impacts. Because these funds ating a grant to provide ARPA revenues to the County for much-needed must serve the tribes’ needs through 2026, we are closely monitoring jail renovations. tribal needs and plans for expenditures. The Tribes, County, and City are working on getting crossThrough ARPA funding, a new gathering and activity space for deputization agreements in place and SLEC certification for non-tribal elders has been constructed as an addition to the existing Myaamia police to have police authority on Indian lands. In addition, the County Community Center, which houses the Tribe’s Title VI Elder Food provides its courthouse facility to tribes to run tribal dockets weekly Program. The activity room will provide computers for internet acwith a tribal judge on the bench and tribal prosecutors and public decess, arts and crafts supplies, a small library, games, and visiting space fenders in place. for elders. This new building We are so proud of our takes the place of the old activCounty and City counterity center. parts joining the Tribes to As an ARPA-funded solve these very compliproject, the Tribe purchased a cated jurisdictional is45-acre farm in Allen County, sues and work together to IN, for cultural and community ensure crime is addressed needs as provided for in the responsibly and in fairfunding guidelines. The guideness. Further, to ensure line-approved projects for that that the City of Miami, property will address commuOttawa County, and the nity concerns of the pandemic Tribes’ reservation lands through food production, soare safer for all. cially distanced outdoor health Related to working and wellness activities, and through these jurisdictioncultural education programs al issues, two producers transmitted through distance from California contacted Akima and President Crawford playing a game of mahkisina. learning. the Tribe with interest Photo by: Karen Baldwin As you will recall, in creating an unscripted I have reported in the past video about the McGirt about the United States Supreme Court decision in the landmark case issues and the law’s impact on Indian Country here in Miami and OtMcGirt v. Oklahoma issued in July 2020. This Supreme Court decision tawa County. The producers will highlight the collaboration of the holds that reservation lands of the Five Civilized Tribes were never Tribes, the County, and the City and follow live with cameras as our disestablished by Congress. Because the reservation was found never police do their essential work to make Miami and Ottawa County a to have been dismantled by acts of Congress, jurisdiction to prosecute safer community. The producers are working with a production commajor crimes by a Native American on the reservation then lies with pany interested in making this project happen and are reaching out to the federal government or the Tribe and not the State of Oklahoma, networks interested in airing a series. This project could initiate as which has been wrongly prosecuting these cases since 1907. As a result soon as this fall. of this ruling, state courts across Oklahoma received a flurry of filings In addition to local concerns impacted by the McGirt ruling, for post-conviction relief filed by Native defendants who were senthe Tribe is active in important legislation in Washington, D.C. I’ve tenced by the State for crimes that occurred on tribal reservation lands. participated in online meetings with our congressional representatives The Miami Tribe’s reservation has been upheld in several cases, which in efforts to see movement with the Tribe’s Illinois land claim bill. are now pending appeal by the State in the Oklahoma Criminal Court Also, in legislative work, the Tribe has worked with congressional of Appeals. Other McGirt-like cases have been referred to the United representatives to introduce Native American Graves Protection States Supreme Court on a petition for certiorari to review whether the Reparation Act (NAGPRA) legislation that calls for moving the state possesses criminal jurisdiction over crimes committed by nonNational NAGPRA office from the National Park Service Department Indians against Indians within Indian reservations concurrent with the of Fish and Wildlife to the Department of Interior. Further, the federal government’s power. legislation includes higher penalties for NAGPRA violations. McGirt upholds tribal sovereignty. The McGirt holding brings Other comments the Tribe is developing pertain to consultation a potential onslaught of criminal cases for the Miami Tribe District with the Bureau of Justice Administration. We seek to identify Court. It opens 80 square miles of Miami Reservation lands for the funding needs and programs to best support tribal communities with Miami Nation Police Department to patrol and respond to crimes comprehensive justice systems planning; tribal justice facilities; court within its borders. The Tribe takes this expanded jurisdiction very system enhancements; alcohol and substance abuse programs; civil seriously to police our reservation lands to ensure the Tribe’s citizens, and criminal legal assistance; alternatives to incarceration; addressing and the community remains safe. There is an immediate need for violent crime in tribal communities and other priorities. enhanced policing; intergovernmental cooperation among the Tribe’s Lastly, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development police, other tribal police, the BIA police, City police, and County (HUD) is in the process of updating its floodplain management and authorities. In addition, there is a need for additional courthouse space, wetlands protection regulations. Per HUD’s Tribal Consultation Policy, court staffing – Judges, prosecutors (tribal and federal), defenders, HUD is reaching out to Tribal leaders to solicit feedback and comments and especially detention facilities. At this time, the tribes have only regarding the draft revisions to its floodplain management and wetlands the Ottawa County jail available to hold criminal defendants and those protection regulations. We submitted comments on this in October of sentenced to time served, and the prison is not only overpopulated but 2021. in dire need of renovation to provide a safe, healthy space for inmates We have so much going on with so many outstanding and employees. contributions to our community. I hope you will make plans to visit the In early summer, the Miami Tribe initiated meetings with sevTribal Headquarters upon any occasion you may be traveling through eral area tribes to form a consortium to approach the McGirt issues. our Oklahoma homeland or coming home for a community event. The Wyandotte, Eastern Shawnee, Ottawa, Shawnee Tribe and Seneca- In closing, I extend our elected Leadership’s best wishes for health, Cayuga joined with us to formally sign a Statement of Shared Interests safety, and prosperity now and always. outlining tribal needs in the wake of McGirt. This document, along with a briefing, was submitted to the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs nipwaahkaako, Bryan Newland requesting immediate funding to address these needs. Akima Eecipoonkwia The Miami Tribe then requested a meeting with the three Ottawa Coun- Chief Douglas Lankford ty Commissioners and City Officials to invite them to join the tribes in their work to solve McGirt issues. The County Commissioners and 5A Aatotankiki Myaamiaki, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022 First Americans Museum Opens in Oklahoma City Megan Mooney The First Americans Museum had its grand opening in Oklahoma City, OK on the weekend of Sept. 18 and 19. The museum itself is a monument to the 39 federally-recognized tribes that currently reside within Oklahoma. What makes this museum experience different than all the others is that this museum has been developed almost solely by natives. The façade is an impressive rendering of what a Wichita grass lodge might be if it were comprised of metal and glass. This shining building wraps around and seamlessly melds with a mound formation that circles around the back of the property. The mound envelopes a circular area that will be used in the future for celebrations, powwows, lacrosse and handball games, and many other events. Approaching the main building, a sculpture called Touch to Above can be seen which resembles an open-palmed hand to symbolize welcoming and a cross within to indicate the four cardinal directions. The main stone entrance looms over its visitors with rocks enough to be equivalent to the number of indigenous people that were removed across the Mississippi River. Inside visitors will find a virtual introduction table that will espouse information of each tribe including language and artifacts that can be found within the museum. Moving past the introduction table is a massive recreation of a Caddo pot designed by Caddo Artist Jeri Redcorn that holds the ‘Origins Theatre’. It will host four different creation stories including the Caddo, Uchee, Pawnee, and Otoe origin stories. These were selected to represent the various types of creation stories including peoples who came from the earth, from the stars, underground, and from the water like the Myaamia. The museum doesn’t seek to simply separate the tribes into their own areas, but demonstrate what they all have in common. Curator Welana Queton said, “It’s all told collectively. I think people come here and think Cherokee stuff, Caddo stuff—sections, but we want people to know that it’s a collective story.” The main floor will host the Tribal Nations Gallery, a timeline of events from ancient times to now, a games section, and an area that commemorates and explains the importance of native warriors, past and present. Upstairs is the Winiko: Life of an Object section that will showcase artifacts on loan from the Smithsonian Institution and explain their significance not only as a physical object, but as Queton said, “It’s life cycle, and also the life we put into it and the life it gives us, too.” This area is arranged to flow from “creation” to “continuum”, or from when the objects were made to now and how they will affect us in the future. The museum’s Associate Director for Institutional Advancement, Leon Natker said, “One of the best things about the curation of all of this, is that this museum is not about dead objects. It’s about living cultures, and where they’re going.” There will be three Myaamia artifacts on exhibit: a silk shirt, a hair bow, and an elm bark basket that had belonged to Kiilhsoohkwa. Queton hopes native peoples will come and experience their tribe being celebrated for what they are and not just as a historical entity, “We’re living. We’re right here. This is our story.” Myaamia woman’s blouse and hair bow on display at the new First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City, OK. Myaamia Cultural Resources Extension Office Relocated By Doug Peconge, Community Programming Manager, CREO In 2019, tribal leaders decided to sell the ten-acre property on Trentman Rd near Fort Wayne. They recognized that the Myaamia community had quickly maximized the use of that space, and there was a need to expand with the community’s interest in cultural knowledge and gathering. Before selling the property, Chief Lankford held a meeting with community members informing them of the intent to sell the property and reaffirming tribal leadership’s commitment to tribal citizens in the Lower Great Lakes region. On August 25th, 2021, tribal leaders committed to purchasing 45 acres located just northwest of Fort Wayne. Second Councilperson Scott Willard traveled to Fort Wayne to represent the Tribe at the real estate closing. The seller, Eugene Parker, was presented with a blanket from the Tribe to thank this elder for his contributions to the property. The property was purchased using ARPA funding and projects and programs for community wellness and food sustainability will be made available to the Myaamia community. Second Councilperson Willard commented that when Leadership first looked at the property, they knew that the Tribe needed to make it the new home for the Cultural Resources Extension Office. The nearly quarter-mile driveway adds a breathtaking view of the trees lining both sides. The home is a cobblestone facade situated squarely in the middle of the property. The south portion of the property has 13 acres of woods with trails throughout and a beautiful 5-acre pond stocked with bluegill, bass, and catfish. There are a variety of plants and trees on the property including milkweed, ironweed, hickory, oak, black walnut, and silver maples. The wildlife on the property includes deer and wild turkeys. Second Councilperson, Scott Willard, and the former property owner at the sale. 6A Aatotankiki Myaamiaki, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022 Longhouse Remodel Staff Article The Ethel Miller Moore Cultural Education Center (EMMCEC) has undergone a complete remodel to provide for improved facilities for distance learning and cultural arts education. The Cultural Education Center was constructed in 1978 and was the first tribally-owned building since the Myaamia removal to Indian Territory over a century earlier. It was originally used as a community meeting center, or longhouse, but has since been used as a meeting place for educational classes and family gatherings. The interior of the structure will boast a new kitchen to allow for in-house cooking classes that can be streamed and recorded for our community members living in diaspora. The electrical has been improved to provide greater accessibility to appliances and tools during workshops and the lighting as well to assist in paying closer attention to detail on projects. The bathrooms have been expanded and updated to follow ADA guidelines. New lighting and electric access improve the facilities use for cultural education classes. Cultural Education Director Joshua Sutterfield hopes the updates will “create a feeling of belonging and pride for one of the Tribe’s oldest cultural centers” as well as “a safe space for learning and perpetuating our language and culture”. The EMMCEC will also be home to the grant-funded Makerspace cultural arts project beginning in the early summer of 2022. (See the article on page 7A.) Four Wings Camp Ground Construction Complete Staff Article The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma has officially opened the new Four Wings Camp Ground located adjacent to the Tribe’s Pow Wow Grounds on 65 Road in Miami, OK. The Camp Ground offers 10 sleeping cabins featuring heat/air, full bath, kitchenette and full sized bed. The 10 paved RV spots include electric, water and sewer. Tribal citizens stay free during annual Tribal gathering events and there is a “first come - first served” booking policy. A rental charge will be in place for camping outside of annual gatherings. Contact Tera Hatley, Member Services Manager, with questions. Interior renovation is complete at the Ethel Miller Moore Cultural Education Center/Longhouse. The renovated space will continue to be used for cultural gatherings and will be home to the Tribe’s new ‘Makerspace’ cultural arts project . Staff photo. Multi-purpose Room Addition to Leonard Learning Center Megan Mooney A new multipurpose room has been added to the Miami Tribe’s Leonard Learning Center (LLC) in Miami, OK. Construction of the 6,000-square-foot project was complete in the fall of 2021. The LLC provides daycare to over 90 community childen. “We’ve outgrown our center,” said Tracy Beckwith, Childcare Services Manager, “The space just was no longer conducive to the kids’ activities.” With the multi-purpose room, the facility has new classrooms, offices, and a large indoor activity space that can be used for a variety of activities. The bathrooms have been enclosed with a protective layer to make them storm safe. “This addition provides classrooms for the school-age children. It provides an indoor space for them to run, to play if the weather is bad outside. Not only can they use it, but when they’re at school the other age groups can come over and utilize it as well,” said Beckwith. The new room will is accessible only through the main center by gates that connect the two buildings. The project itself will is surrounded by fencing, so though it is a new facility it will still be a part of the main campus. The project is was undertaken with funds applied for in 2019 under the Childcare Development Fund so no change to their regular rates is required and as all costs are covered by the fund. The LLC is currently at capacity, but they do have a waiting list for any parents hoping to sign up for daycare. They can accommodate One of the 10 cabins in Four Wings Camp Ground located adjacent to children from ages 6 weeks to 13 years. the Miami Tribe’s Pow Wow Grounds on 65 Road in Miami, OK. Four Wings Camp Ground is now complete and available to Tribal citizens. COMING SOON - The Miami Tribe is set to expand the Myaamia Wellness Center in Miami, OK. The expansion will begin in the fall of 2022. Joining the existing therapy/exercise pool, the new space is designed to provide exercise equipment, self-guided exercise, trainer guided workouts, and healthy eating and nutrition education. 7A Aatotankiki Myaamiaki, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022 Miami Meat Processing Plant Under Construction Megan Mooney A new meat processing plant is currently under construction on East 30 Road near the Tribal Cemetery. The project will be completed with CARES Act funding in late summer 2022. The project was conceived when local farmers and tribal members in Ottawa County began experiencing increasing wait times for meat processing at all local facilities. The problem became so rampant, unborn calves were being signed up several years in advance merely to ensure a slot. “Not only would the Tribe be faced with longer wait times,” said Natural Resource Officer and Second Chief Dustin Olds, “but, our people wouldn’t have a way to get their animals processed in a timely manner.” He said the situation is a matter of basic food security; families who produce their own meat animals would have fewer opportunities to put food on their own tables, and farmers who direct market would be short of products to sell. He did note, due to the pandemic large concentrated packing facilities had problems keeping supply at normal levels, more consumers are looking to buy local and support smaller local farmers. Olds hopes to provide a processing service that will be useful to tribal members in the region and see to their processing needs without any incredulous wait periods. “We just want to protect our little corner of the world,” he said. A key feature of the operation is a portable slaughter unit that can be towed to a tribal member’s property within a yet-to-bedetermined radius from Miami to provide an easy option for processing and a less stressful option for the animal, which Olds noted will lead to higher quality meats. Carcasses will be halved and chilled in the trailer and taken into the processing building for aging, cut-up, packaging, and freezing. There will be a smoker in the facility to make value-added products possible such as summer sausage, beef sticks, bratwurst, ham, bacon, and many other fine products. The facility will have the capability to process beef, swine, lamb, goat, and venison. In the future, Olds would like to use these resources to provide high quality meats and meat products to tribal households across the country at prices competitive with or lower The new facility under construction. than the supermarkets. Once the facility is up and running next year, tribal members will be able to call the facility to set up an appointment. Because the facility was funded by the CARES Act, the purpose is to mitigate the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, we are solving the problem of inadequate supply of meat processing capabilities in the local community. The goal is for our Tribal community to have confidence that their finished animals will be processed when they need processed, and for our community to have the highest degree of food security that we can provide. Miami Tribe Cultural Resources Offices Relocated Julie Olds, Cultural Resources Officer The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma Cultural Resources Office team has moved to new offices inside the old Activity Center on 65 Road. The building provides office space for the Cultural Resources Officer, Assistant Cultural Resources Officer, Cultural Education Director, Section 106 Data Management Clerk, and the Environmental Quality Department employees. The new location, named the Mildred Walker Cultural Resources Center, honors the memory and cultural contributions of esteemed elder Mildred Watson Walker. Mildred, who passed on in 2012, contributed significant Myaamia knowledge, the wisdom of age, and a great love for the Miami Tribe to the revitalization work of the Cultural Resources Office. She was an active participant in the language revitalization work, and her knowledge of The Mildred Walker Cultural Resource Center. Myaamia plants and foods deepened cultural understanding in immeasurable ways. Her influence can be seen and felt to this day and will, without doubt, live on within the Myaamia community. The Miami Tribe held an open house for the new Center during the 2022 Myaamia Winter Gathering. A second open house will be held on Friday, June 24 and Sat. June 25, 2022 during the Myaamia National Gathering Week events. Construction UnderMeghan Dorey, MHMA Manager way on New Myaamia The Miami Nation was recently awarded a new technology to the community and explore National Archives grant from the Institute of Museum and Library new ways of representing myaamia culture. Miami Tribe Receives “Makerspace Grant” Services to create a ‘Cultural Makerspace.’ A makerspace is a place where community members can gather to create, share, and learn about different creative technologies and techniques. The cultural makerspace is housed inside the newly renovated Ethel Miller Moore Cultural Education Center (Longhouse.) The grant provides funding for equipment and the hire of the new Makerspace Coordinator. Madalyn Richardson was hired to the position in early 2022 and brings her degree in art, with tremendous energy and enthusiasm to this new effort. Meghan Dorey, Manager at the Myaamia Heritage Museum & Archive, wrote the grant proposal after recognizing the need for continued support of workshop participants, where a community member might learn a new skill, but then not have the resources to continue honing that skill. It also gives the Nation the opportunity to introduce The cultural Makerspace focuses on interpersonal learning, where tribal members can help each other maintain and improve skills in any of the arts they are interested in. The new space will have a reference library, supplies for heritage arts like beadwork, ribbonwork, and weaving, space for painting and drawing, a teaching kitchen, a kiln, and woodworking tools. There will also be a 3d printer, laser engraver, vinyl cutter, and telescope. Even the smallest makers will have something for them at the Makerspace: building blocks, model sets, puzzles, crayons, and markers will be available. Once the space is completed, the Cultural Resources Office will begin holding regular events and arts workshops for the community. It is a space where everyone, regardless of age, will be welcome to learn, practice, and share knowledge with others. Staff Article Construction is underway on a new 2,400 square foot cultural heritage facility that will serve as the Myaamia National Archives. The project is funded by a Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) and is projected to be complete in late November 2022. The building will provide storm-proof, archival storage for the Nation’s governmental and cultural heritage documents and objects. Workers level the slab as construction begins on the new Myaamia National Archives 8A Aatotankiki Myaamiaki, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022 2021 Annual General Council Meeting Held The annual meeting of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma General Council was held on Saturday, June 26, in the Nation’s Council House in the Miami Reservation in Miami, OK. Originally planned to be held outdoors, the meeting was moved indoors due to inclement weather. In addition, due to the pandemic, only Tribal citizens were allowed to attend to provide ample space for social distancing. Before the meeting began, the following individuals were honored: Marvin Dow, of Georgia, received the Elder’s 75 Year blanket; Nellie Brandt, of Kansas, received a gift for being the eldest female in attendance; James Battese, of Oklahoma, received a gift for being the eldest male in attendance; Isabella May Downs, four-month-old daughter of Gary and Carrie Downs of Oklahoma, received a blanket for being the youngest baby in attendance. Secretary-Treasurer Donya Williams and First Councilperson Tera Hatley also gifted all Veterans in attendance. Chief Douglas Lankford offered an Staff Article invocation and, following special presentations for elders and veterans, called the meeting to order at 8 a.m., with 107 voting-age citizens counted in attendance. The first order of business on the agenda was the annual State of the Nation address given by Chief Lankford. Secretary-Treasurer Donya Williams followed with the financial report. Next, Miami Nation Enterprises CEO Peter Murphy delivered financial and business development information for the Tribe’s businesses. Elections were conducted according to the Tribal constitution, with nominations made from the floor. There were two positions up for the Tribal Business Committee. Dustin Olds was re-elected to a three-year term as Second Chief, and Tera Hatley was re-elected to a three-year term as First Councilperson. Elections for seats on the Tribal Grievance Committee followed. Chuck North was reelected to a three-year term, while Kolby Lankford was elected to a three-year term. Tribal citizen Morgan Brown, with her husband Stephen and daughters at the 2021 General Council Meeting. Photo Credit: Karen Baldwin The elected Leadership of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma. Pictured from left to right: Tera Hatley, First Councilperson; Donya Williams, Secretary-Treasurer; Douglas Lankford, Chief; Dustin Olds, Second Chief; Scott Willard, Second Councilperson. Photo by Karen Baldwin. New Elder Activity Center Added to Myaamia Community Center Staff Article A new addition to the Title VI building is now complete. The space is the new Elder Activity Center. Earlier this year, the previous Elder Activity Center was converted to a series of offices for the Cultural Resource Office and the Department of Environmental Quality. This was all done in line with the tribe’s vision to unify their offices onto two central campuses by Tribal Headquarters and the Council House. The new space will boast an additional 1400 square feet in space and have a capacity of approximately 40-50 people. It will have an arts and crafts area as well as room for materials that were used at the previous Elder Activity Center such as a small library, exercises equipment, and computer access. The space will be attached directly to the current Title VI building on the East side and will be accessible through the dining area. As large communal events like Winter Gathering have grown bigger each year, the space will also be ideal for hosting additional guests of these events for meals in between activities. The exterior work is complete, and the interior is near completion (see photo below), for the new Elder Activity Center wing of the Miami Tribe’s Myaamia Community Center & Title VI Dining Hall. Staff photo. Chief Douglas Lankford administers the oath of office to elected officials. L to R; Second Chief Dustin Olds, First Councilperson Tera Hatley, and Grievance Committee members Chuck North and Kolby Lankford. Photo Credit: Karen Baldwin Tribal citizen Marvin Dow was the only citizen in attendance at the 2021 General Council meeting to receive the Elder Blanket gifted to citizens aged 75 and older. Marvin is pictured with Secretary-Treasurer Donya Williams (left) and First Councilperson Tera Hatley. Photo Credit: Karen Baldwin The 2022 meeting of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma General Council will be held at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 25th, in the Nation’s Council House in Miami, OK. 8A Myaamiaki, Vol.Aatotankiki Aatotankiki 16, No. 3, 2022 Myaamiaki, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2021 9A Nally, Dorey Win Honors at Eugene Brown Art Show Megan Mooney The Myaamia Heritage Museum & Archive is proud to announce the winners of the 2021 Eugene Brown Memorial Art Show. This year there were seventy-five entries from eleven artists in the youth division and twenty-three artists in the adult division. Artists competed in eight categories. The theme for this year’s show was “Meehkweelintamankwi Aanchsahaaciki: Remembering Our Forced Removal.” In line with the year-long commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Miami Forced Removal from the homelands, artists were encouraged to submit artwork that reflected their interpretation of an aspect of removal. Seventeen pieces were submitted for consideration, and the theme award went to Josiah Dorey for his mixed media entry “Taanaaha Kiilhswa.” The piece incorporates two photographs of the full moon, taken on the same night, from Oklahoma and Indiana. Josiah then wove the photographs together, representing the permanent connection between the two places and the Myaamiaki who live there. This year’s Best In Show went to Jared Nally for his twined panel bag. The judges appreciated the precision and skill shown in Jared’s work in revitalizing this art form. Jared is awarded with a handmade award ribbon including a silver brooch, and a prize check of $500. Newly added for this show, the judges also awarded a Best In Show for the youth division. The judges chose ‘mihtekia ahkihkwa’—a handmade, painted hand drum by Josiah Dorey. Josiah is eight years old and the son of tribal member Matthew Dorey, and proud member of the Geboe Family. In addition to a special award ribbon, Josiah will receive $100 in prize money. After the show opened, visitors were given the opportunity to vote for their favorite entries, in person or on Facebook. The winner of the People’s Choice Award goes to Gracie Williams for her pencil drawing of a cottontail rabbit. Though the show closed September 25, we recognize that many were not able to visit in person. The photographs of each entry are still available to view at the Myaamia Heritage Museum & Archive Facebook page. Additionally, Jonathan Fox from the Myaamia Center assisted in putting together a video walkthrough, which is available on the new Eemamwiciki YouTube channel. Congratulations to all the artists! Your hard work brought color and joy in celebrating myaamia culture back to the MHMA after being closed for a year due to the COVID19 pandemic. We look forward to bringing you the next Eugene Brown Memorial Art Show during the summer of 2023! Winners in the Youth Division Category 1: Painting & Drawing 1. Josiah Dorey; 3 States: Same Land 2. Gracie Williams; Waapanswa: cottontail rabbit 3. Avery Scott; Turtle at Sunset Category 2: Photography & Digital Graphics 1. Jensen Dorey; šinkwaahkwa 2. Jensen Dorey; neehpiki-pihcita eempahwici 3. Jamison Williams; Still Playing Category 3: Mixed Media & Diversified Art 1. Josiah Dorey; taanaaha kiilhswa 2. Reagan Estes; RibbonWork Nally, pictured above, with his twined panel bag at the Myaamia Heritage Museum 3. Gracie Williams; Cultural Wall Decor Category 5: Jewelry & Accessories 1. Josephine Cirullo; nipi keekiihtanki 2. Aaliyah Ramsey; turtle necklace Category 6: Traditional Cultural Items 1. Josiah Dorey; mihtekia ahkihkwa 2. Jamison Williams; woven mahkisini meehkintiinki 3. Jensen Dorey; šimaakani Category 7: Sculpture 1. Avery Scott; Box Turtle Category 8: Performance & Creative Writing 1. Dylan Estes; American Dream Winners in the Adult Division Category 1: Painting & Drawing 1. Katrina Mitten; kiteehinaana kiliyana (Our Hearts Bleed) 2. Donya Williams; Removal Now and Then 3. Denise Estes; Flora Category 2: Photography & Graphics 1. Doug Peconge; Places of my Father 2. Kayla Becker; Maamiikaahkia Joins The Tribe 3. Rachel Cirullo; meeneehwiki Category 3: Mixed Media & Diversified Arts 1. 2. Tonya Young; Symbols of the People 3. Sister Edwina Pope; Miami Mat Category 4: Textiles & Regalia 1. Jared Nally; Panel bag 2. Jared Nally; Fingerwoven diamond sash 3. Patty Morgan; Miami T-shirt quilt Category 5: Jewelry & Accessories 1. Katrina Mitten; aamawia 2. Scott Shoemaker; beaded cuffs 3. Katrina Mitten; Pandemics Category 6: Traditional Cultural Items 1. Jean Richardville; bark basket 2. Rebecca Walker; basket adorned with deer antler 3. Jean Richardville; hand woven basket Category 7: Sculpture 1. Dani Tippmann; from 1846 to present 2. Donya Williams; cecaahkwa Category 8: Performance & Creative Writing 1. Jonathan Fox; pakitahantaawi 2. Diane Hunter; Motherhood in a Time of Removal 3. Miranda Peconge; When Language Can’t Speak Susan Fox; Mind Your Mother Josiah Dorey won the Theme Award for his piece “Tanaaha Kiilhswa” and Best In Show for the Youth Division for his hand-painted drum (shown above). About the Tribal Medical Benefit Card Elders, Disabled Tribal Citizens, Veterans and Active Duty Military tribal members are eligible to receive a Tribal Medical Benefit Debit Card. To apply simply submit enrollment information and documentation validating eligibility status. New applicants contact Tera Hatley, Member Services Manager, with questions or for assistance. Current card holders also contact Tera Hatley for updates to your status or enrollment records. thatley@miamination.com Ph: 918-541-1324 10A Aatotankiki Myaamiaki, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022 Ciinkwia Minohsaya Symposium Held at Miami University Megan Mooney The Myaamia Center recently held a three-day symposium to discuss the ciinkwia minohsaya ‘Painted Thunderbird Robe’. The ciinkwia minohsaya is a deer hide Miami-Illinois piece that dates to around the 1680-1750 period. It is currently held at the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris, France. The symposium was the culmination of a year-long discussion via Zoom that began with George Ironstrack, Assistant Director of the Myaamia Center; Cam Shriver, Myaamia Research Associate; and David Costa, Director of the Myaamia Center’s Language Research Office, wanted to review the work of Associate Professor of History at University of Illinois, Bob Morrisey. Morrisey has been researching early settlement contact between the French and Inohka, natives of present-day Illinois. Over time the group added Myaamia citizen and Curator of the Eiteljorg Museum, Scott Shoemaker; as well as Peoria citizen and Assistant Professor of History at New York University, Liz Ellis. The group met on Miami’s campus in mid-August and when they were not in meetings discussing the robe they were exploring around Miami’s campus analyzing its connection to Myaamionki, traditional Myaamia homelands. Ironstrack said, “We wanted to make it a symposium, but not a conference. In my writing, I’m talking about the context of stories. Stories are connected to places, so grounding our discussions in place was something I really wanted us to do.” The symposium was funded through a seed grant from the University of Illinois’ Humanities Without Walls consortium. The symposium’s attendees have published posts that can be viewed on the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma’s community blog at https://aacimotaatiiyankwi.org. It is not clear yet whether the group Diane Hunter Completes Blog Series on Myaamia Removal Julie Olds, CRO As Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, Diane Hunter spends her days absorbed in Myaamia history, state and federal historic preservation laws, and historic site preservation. It is a work described in many terms. Clichés quickly come to mind. “Rewarding, challenging, significant.” All true. However, for the past year, Diane has been immersed in a particular history project that gave emergence to descriptions we often suppress in our cultural revitalization work. “Difficult, sobering, heartbreaking.” The year 2021 marked the 175th anniversary of the brutal, forced removal of the Miami Nation to foreign lands westward beyond the Mississippi River. To commemorate this anniversary, Diane was assigned the complex, time-consuming, and often heart-wrenching task of writing a series of blog posts for the aacimotaatiiyankwi.org community blog. From her first blog entry on February 5, 2021, to her final post on January 7, 2022, Diane took Myaamia readers on a history tour carrying us through the events in the years leading to our forced removal, guided us in the removal journey with our ancestors, and took us through our second removal to Indian Territory. The series includes a total of 39 posts. Diane was quick to answer when asked about the emotional effects of researching and writing the series. “Every time I sat down to write, especially as I got closer to writing about October (the removal month), I hesitated a moment and prepared myself to go forward with this task that was so painful. And yet I am so grateful and honored to be able to share our ancestors’ stories. I hope I have not misjudged them, not misrepresented them, have in some Miami Tribe of Oklahoma Historic Preservation Officer, Diane Hunter. way understood who they were and why they did what they did.” Myaamia citizens are encouraged to visit the blog and, beginning with her entry on February 5, 2021, read the series. There is much waiting for you in her writings, and I encourage you to be prepared for a myriad of emotions to emerge as you take the journey. Anger, disappointment, confusion, fear, questioning, and grief are almost unavoidable. So also are the tears that may flow. Keep reading, though. A proper understanding of this history requires a commitment to read to the final entry so that you may lift your head and see how far we have come together. Ciinkwia Minohsaya robe above. Robe peinte from Musée du quai Branly N˚ inventaire: 71.1878.32.134. will meet again to discuss the object or perhaps others of critical importance to the tribe, but they do intend to continue their discussion virtually about other objects of cultural importance as well which Ironstrack hopes to make, “very accessible to our Myaamia community.” Seenseewinki at the Pinšiwa Awiiki Diane Hunter, THPO The Pinšiwi Awiiki ‘Chief Richardville House,’ home of Myaamia Chief JB Richardville, is a National Historic Landmark, located in what is now Fort Wayne, Indiana. The house, currently owned by the Fort Wayne History Center, is open to the public on the first Saturday of the months of May through November. Visitors can take a guided tour of the house and observe or participate in a different activity each month. On Saturday, August 7, 2021, Miami citizen Dani Tippmann was one of the tour guides. From the back porch of the house, Diane Hunter, Miami Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, taught visitors to play seenseewinki ‘the bowl game,’ also known as the ‘plum stone game.’ The family in this photo quickly learned how to play and how to score and had a lot of fun playing this traditional Myaamia game. Photo courtesy of the Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society. Miami Tribe of Oklahoma community members are encouraged to submit family news to this publication. Submit News to: jolds@miamination.com Photos should be supplied as tif, jpg, pdf or psd files measuring at least 3” in width x 3” in height at a resolution of 300 dpi. Aatotankiki Myaamiaki, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022 11A MHMA Installs Exhibit Celebrating Neepwaantiinki Julie Olds, CRO The Myaamia Heritage Museum & Archive recently installed a special exhibit inside the Mildred Walker Cultural Resources Center in Miami, OK. Titled “Keelonteehameekwi: Tending the Fire,” the display celebrates the 50th anniversary of the relationship between the Miami Tribe and Miami University. Included are objects such as the sash gifted to Chief Lankford by the Dali Lama during a visit to campus in 2010 and handmade gifts from students following visits to Miami, OK. The display also features Miami University alumni and the role athletics has played in the relationship over the years. But the most eye-catching and deeply moving part of the exhibit is the display of 330 hand-cut strips of fabric hanging from the ceiling. The fabric strips, representing silk ribbons, were originally made by the Myaamia Center to hang from trees on the campus of Miami University as part of a commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Removal of the Miami Tribe from its homelands in 1846. Following the event on October 11, 2021, the strips were retrieved and sent to the Nation. In the exhibit, the ribbons hang from a wire bent to represent the shape of the waterways used to send the Miami Tribe away from its homeland. From the beginning of the removal route in Peru, IN, all the way to the final settlement in Miami, OK, the ribbons hang in undulating colors chosen to represent the men (black), women (red), male youth (blue calico) and female youth (red calico) who were forced to make that journey in 1846. The exhibit will remain on display until February 2023 and will be open for viewing throughout the National Gathering Week events in June 2022. MHMA Manager Meghan Dorey designed, and helped to install, the unique “removal mobile” representing the waterways followed on the Miami’s forced journey west. Exhibit celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Miami Tribe’s relationship with Miami University. New Miami - Illinois Language Publication by Dr. David Costa Dr. David Costa has been studying the MiamiIllinois language since 1988, and began extensive work with the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma language revitalization effort following his dissertation in linguistics at U.C. Berkeley in 1994. As Program Director for the Language Research Office at the Myaamia Center at Miami University, he is respected internationally and especially within the Myaamia community of language users where he is respected for his role in the revitalization of Myaamiaataweenki. With his 1994 dissertation, “The Miami-Illinois Language”, David has authored over thirty publications on the language. These writings include papers submitted to the Algonquian Conference, the International Journal of American Linguistics, the Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas Newsletter, and Anthropological Linguistics. Significant contributions to the Myaamia community include his work contributing to the 2005 publication “Myaamia Neehi Peewaalia Kaloosioni Mahsinaakani: a MiamiPeoria Dictionary”, and the 2010 publication “Myaamia neehi peewaalia aacimoona neehi Ribbons in the trees - a special event. See page 2B. Photo by Scott Kissell - used with permission. Julie Olds, CRO aalhsoohkaana: Myaamia and Peoria Narratives and Winter Stories.” David’s most recent publication, “As Long as the Earth Endures,” (University of Nebraska Press) is an annotated collection of almost all of the known texts in MiamiIllinois. The texts were gathered from language speakers from the late 1800’s into the early twentieth century, and include culture hero stories, trickster tales, and animal stories as well as personal and historical narratives. The texts were collected from seven language speakers: George Finley, Frank Beaver, William Peconga, Sarah Wadsworth, Thomas Richardville, Gabriel Godfroy and Elizabeth Valley. Quoting the University of Nebraska Press, “Representing thirty years of study, almost all of the stories are published here for the first time. The texts are presented with their original transcriptions along with full, corrected modern transcriptions, translations, and grammatical analyses. Included with the texts are extensive annotation on all aspects of their meaning, pronunciation, and interpretation; a lengthy glossary explaining and analyzing in detail every word; and an introduction placing the texts “As Long as the Earth Endures” is the latest book on the Myaamia language by linguist Dr. David Costa. in their philological, historical, linguistic, and folkloric context, with a discussion of how the stories compare to similar texts from neighboring Great Lakes Algonquian tribes.” The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma extends sincere appreciation, gratitude and respect to David for this tremendous contribution to our resources for our ongoing language and culture revitalization effort. For Tribal citizens interested in this volume, the Miami Nation Gift Shop will soon have copies available for order. 12A Aatotankiki Myaamiaki, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022 Eemamwiciki Coloring Book Project Joshua Sutterfield The Eemamwicki Coloring Book project is one of many new projects developed to reach our community due to the lack of personal interaction during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our first series of coloring books will specifically focus on tribal youth up to 12 years old. These books will provide a fun new way of learning about and participating in Myaamia culture. endless potential. As a pilot book this publication (1000 -1500 copies) has been disseminated as hard copies to select families that have participated in other programs. A digital format will be available for other tribal members and interested parties at the aacimotaatiiyankwi blog, just search for ‘coloring book’. A multi-person team made up of members from the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma’s The Eemamwicki Coloring Book project will continue these efforts by providing a Cultural Resources Office, with the Cultural new fun way to incorporate Myaamia culture Education Director serving as the project into the everyday lives of our community. The manager. The team also consisted of staff from format of coloring books will allow us to focus the Myaamia Center at Miami University, one on different themes that can reach different age tribal member art major (Miami University) groups, from children to adults, in a way that is and an artist from Polyrhythm Studio. familiar to many. This first book, designed for ages 4-8, is the beginning of a series that has New Employees Join Cultural Resources Staff Julie Olds, CRO The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma Cultural Resources Office (CRO) announces the addition of two new employees. The hires bring much needed support to the work of the Myaamia Heritage Museum & Archive. Morgan Lippert, a transplant from Wisconsin to Oklahoma, serves a dual position as the Curator of Exhibitions for the Myaamia Heritage Museum & Archive, and serves the CRO as NAGPRA Historian and Records Coordinator. She began work with the Tribe as a summer intern working on a NAGPRA Grant project, and later applied to the new full-time position when the job was posted in late 2021. She comes to her work in the CRO following her graduation in 2021 with a degree in history and museum studies from Beloit College, which is located in her home state of Wisconsin. At Beloit, her focus was Native American history, specifically that of Indian boarding schools. As a student scholar at the Newberry Library in Chicago, she spent a semester researching Native language preservation at the Santee Normal Training School (1870-1936) while interning at the library’s D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies. Prior to working for MTO, Morgan worked as a collections assistant for the Logan Museum of Anthropology, a curator for the Sauk County Historical Society, and as the NAGPRA Assistant for the Milwaukee Public Museum. Madalyn Richardson joined the CRO Team in early 2022 as Coordinator of the new “Makerspace” project funded by the Institute of Museum & Library Services. As the Makerspace Coordinator Madalyn is responsible for the space coordinating “maker activities” revolving around themes in culture, art, science, technology, engineering, math, and more. The “maker movement” is a concept rooted in creativity and education. Madalyn graduated from Missouri Southern State University (MSSU) in Joplin, MO with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Design in the Spring of 2021. She also received a minor in art history and Certificate in Spanish. Madalyn has also illustrated, designed, and self-published her own version of the children’s book The Tortoise and the Hare and has had other design and illustration work published in two other books and a student magazine, Blixt. Passionate for the arts, organization, and education, Madalyn is excited to be a part of developing the Myaamia Makerspace program and becoming more involved in cultural education and the Myaamia community. The first page of the Eemamwiciki Coloring Book. Jarrid Baldwin Returns to Miami University Megan Mooney Jarrid Baldwin working on language development. Ciinkwia neehi Jarrid Baldwin returned to working at Miami University last year after receiving his Master’s Degree in Second Language Studies at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. Starting in July of 2021 he began his tenure at Miami University serving as the Myaamia Language Coordinator for the College of Education and Health Sciences. His main priority in this position will be supporting language acquisition in the community. He is currently working on a Myaamia language teacher program to help accomplish that goal. Madalyn Richardson (left) and Morgan Lippert are recent additions to the knowledgeable team in the Miami Tribe’s Cultural Resources Office. Staff photo. DOWNLOAD THE EVENTS AGENDA FOR THE UPCOMING MYAAMIA NATIONAL GATHERING WEEK AT WWW.MIAMINATION.COM The Myaamia Center is also hard at work developing new online-based tools that can be used to educate myaamia people in diaspora, or just those looking to grow their knowledge. Currently they have opportunities under the ‘Education’ tab. Ciinkwia hopes to create an asynchronous, online language course that will be made available to members of the community in this education portal within the next couple years. Until then he will be working on the language teacher program and developing curriculum for when he is head teacher of the Tribe class at Miami University next year when the theme of the year’s learning will be language. Myaamia Publications - Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022 - Section B - Noošonke Siipionki Myaamionki Miami Tribe & Miami University Celebrate 50 Year Relationship Kara Strass, Director, Miami Tribe Relations, Myaamia Center, Miami University This year, the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and Miami University are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their relationship. This relationship began in 1972 when Chief Forest Olds visited Miami University, but since that time has grown into the reciprocal relationship we know today. The year-long anniversary celebration is taking place both in Miami, Oklahoma, and Oxford, Ohio, and celebrates how far the relationship has evolved over the past five decades and reflects on the many milestones that have been reached together. Last year, 2021, was the 30th anniversary of the Myaamia Heritage Award, and this year we graduated our 106th Myaamia students from Miami University. Myaamia students who attend Miami are an important part of this relationship and serve as our best ambassadors for teaching about the Miami Tribe. The Myaamia Heritage Program is also a great example of how we tend the fire of this relationship. Miami University provides financial support for our students to attend Miami, and the Tribe, primarily through the Myaamia Center, creates a Myaamia community that allows students to learn about Myaamia history, language, and culture. Additionally, many of the alumni of the Myaamia Heritage program continue to give back to the Myaamia community as educators in our summer youth programs, as cultural practitioners, or simply as engaged citizens of the Nation. 2021 was also the 20th anniversary of the Myaamia Center. What started as the My- aamia Project in 2001 with a single employee has grown into the Myaamia Center, which today has 18 full and part-time employees. By working together with the Cultural Resource Office, the Myaamia Center provides research and educational development that is needed by the Tribe. Throughout the rest of this year, there will be a variety of events, programs, and presentations to celebrate the 50th anniversary. Many of these events will be open to the public and all Myaamia community members are welcome to attend. We will continue to advertise these events on the Myaamia Center website and social medi. The main event that will be taking place this fall is the Celebrating Miami: Tribe and University Week, November 7-13, 2022. During this week, there will be a variety of activities every day, including academic presentations, student events, exhibits, athletics events, and more. We planned to kick off the 50th-anniversary celebrations at the Tribe’s Winter Gathering in January, however we were not able to do this due to the pandemic. Now, we plan for the 2023 Winter Gathering to be the close-out event for the celebration. Faculty, staff, and students from Miami University come to this event each year, but 2023 will be especially exciting because we will have a large number of people join us for the event. In April, we held the ninth biennial Myaamiaki Conference, which included presentations about the work that the Myaamia Center has been focused on for the past couple of years. If you were not able to attend, these presentations were recorded and you can find them on the Myaamia Center webpage. In addition to events that celebrate the 50th anniversary, we also wanted to create something tangible that would commemorate the anniversary. Working together with a designer from Miami University and Julie Olds, we designed a wool blanket that was produced by Eighth Generation, a Native-owned blanket company. The blanket features the Myaamia community symbol as well as the Myaamia Heritage Logo turtle in a design inspired by Myaamia wearing blankets. The blanket is now available for purchase in the Miami Tribe gift shop. We hope that all of you will follow along for the rest of this celebratory year and even attend some of these events if you are able. If you have any questions, please contact Kara Strass at strasskl@miamioh.edu. Celebrate the relationship between the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and Miami University with the purchase of a commemorative blanket! Available through the Miami Nation Gift Shop, the blanket retails for $208 dollars. Tribal citizens receive a discount with verification of enrollment. Order online at https://myaamiagifts.square.site or phone the Gift Shop at 918544-6049 for shipping or in-store pickup. 2B Aatotankiki Myaamiaki, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022 Day of Reflection: Commemorating 175th anniversary of the Miami Tribe’s removal from their homelands Article by Jessica Rivinius, Miami University News and Communications, Reprinted with Permission. More than 400 Miami Tribe citizens and campus community members gathered on Miami University’s Oxford campus on Oct. 11 for a Day of Reflection commemorating the 175th anniversary of the Miami Tribe’s removal from their homelands. The solemn program began in the Art Museum Sculpture Park, where Miami Tribe of Oklahoma Chief Douglas Lankford spoke about the effects of the removal, and the hurt and loss it caused. “This ground beneath our feet is home, a place where countless generations of our ancestors left footprints as they lived their lives until a fateful period in the history of this country,” Chief Lankford said. “And though Myaamia people had lived in this vast homeland region since time immemorial, the stroke of (President Andrew Jackson’s) pen permanently altered our destiny.” In 1830, President Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, which in October 1846, forced Myaamia men, women, and children into holding pens, then canal boats, to relocate them to Kansas and finally Oklahoma. Chief Lankford described what it must have been like for his ancestors, ripped from their lands and clutching hands full of dirt from the only home they had known, as men with guns and bayonets barked orders at them. “We shudder to imagine the scenes, the tears, and cries,” Chief Lankford said. “Think of it — Miami University was born before the Removal Act was signed, and classes were likely in session when those boats passed by taking our ancestors away to a foreign land.” Chief Lankford said the United States continues to struggle with the history of removal of and the brutality toward Native peoples. The forced relocation was more than just a removal from land. He said it affected every aspect of identity — from the Tribe’s sovereignty and culture to its language and communal traditions. “We have emerged from that darkness, surviving to this new day of restored knowledge, vitality, governmental strength, and self-determination, made possible by the reclamation, restoration, and revitalization of our language and culture,” Chief Lankford said. “From removal to this day, our healing journey has not been without support and allies and friends. We are so thankful for the incredible partnership we share with Miami University,” Chief Lankford said. “Look around and see that we walk together on a good path ahead made possible by our commitment to each other through neepwantiinki — our partnership in learning.” The event continued after Chief Lankford’s talk with a quiet walk through Miami’s Arts Quad, past the university’s sundial, to Bonham House, home to the Myaamia Center, the research arm for the Tribe. Myaamia students led the procession, carrying the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma flag down the center aisle. Pieces of colored fabric were tied to trees along the walking route to commemorate each of the 330 Tribe members who were removed. Solid black strips represented the men, red calico for the women, solid blue for the young men, and blue calico for the young women. “We recognize that removal from this land resulted not only in the displacement of nearly 330 individual children, women, and men, but resulted in historical trauma that has contributed to persistent inequities and injustices across generations and today,” said Cristina Alcalde, Miami vice president for institutional diversity and inclusion. “We are Miami Tribe of Oklahoma Chief Douglas Lankford spoke about the committed to supporting effects of the removal of the Tribe during the “Day of Reflection” event held Oct. 11 at Miami University. The gathering was held the culture and language in commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Tribes forced revitalization efforts as removal from their homelands. Photo by Jeff Sabo - used with permission. well as other efforts that come from within the Heritage Award Program and the first Miami Miami Tribe and Myaamia Center in our role Tribe students enrolling at the university 30 as partners who are working to contribute to a years ago. May 2021 saw the 100th Myaamia stronger, more inclusive future.” graduate, and this fall saw the largest incoming Once the group reassembled and class of Tribe students. gathered at Bonham House, Daryl Baldwin “The Miami Tribe and Miami read an excerpt from a letter that Myaamia University are forever connected,” President Chief Toohpia wrote to President James Polk Crawford said. “The warmth of our in 1846 that spoke to heartache and loss partnership has promoted the advancement and inflicted by the forced relocation. development of the Myaamia Tribe and Miami “They knew their relocation would set University. Like tending a fire, the university into motion significant changes in the coming and the Tribe have a joint responsibility years,” said Baldwin, executive director of to continuously maintain this relationship, the Myaamia Center. “What they probably respond to challenges that might arise, and couldn’t comprehend at that time was the level nurture it for future growth. A future that we of loss and disconnect the next few generations will continue to journey together.” would experience.” Baldwin said that though the events occurred a long time ago, the associated trauma is still felt many generations later: whole generations of Myaamia people taught to hide and/or be ashamed of their heritage. “The forces that led to abandoning Myaamia language, culture, knowledge of our history, the very essence of our identity, created a disconnect — a gap — within future generations,” Baldwin said. “We call these generations the lost generations. That is my generation. I grew up at a time when there was little knowledge transfer of my heritage, language, and culture.” Baldwin said that in the mid-20th century, things began to change and federal acts were put into place to recognize the inherent sovereignty of Indigenous peoples. “Society as a whole is changing. It is now incumbent upon us as Myaamia people today to pick up the tattered threads that were left for us by our ancestors to begin the process of weaving a different future for ourselves.” He said the work requires time, resources, many hands, a shared vision for the future, and strong partnerships. “The history of the Myaamia people is interwoven with the history of this institution,” Miami University President Gregory Crawford said. “Next year, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of this important partnership. A partnership that is very sacred to Miami University and has shaped us all in exceptional ways.” President Crawford highlighted a few of the milestones in that partnership, including the establishment of the Myaamia Outdoor Classroom at the EMMCEC Staff Article An Outdoor Learning Environment (OLE) is being created on the land surrounding the Ethel Miller Moore Cultural Education Center (EMMCEC). The new learning space is projected to be complete this summer. The OLE will provide an ‘outdoor classroom’ where community members can learn about Myaamia ecology, language, and culture. The project will expand the use of the exterior of the Cultural Education Center by adding trails, raised garden beds, and benches and tables where members can enjoy the outdoors and engage in lessons. “The Outdoor Classroom will provide a safe outdoor environment for Tribal youth to learn about Myaamia culture and the cultur- ally specific relationship Myaamia people have with the natural environment,” said Cultural Education Director Joshua Sutterfield, “The outdoor learning experience provides opportunities for more than just learning how to build and maintain gardens; but also highlights the relationships and awareness of our place in the environment and the larger community.” Guided hiking tours of relevant Myaamia plants and trees and garden to table cooking classes will be part of the curriculum of the OLE. Sutterfield believes the Outdoor Learning Environment will be “a vital teaching tool for the distribution of tribal knowledge”. 3B Aatotankiki Myaamiaki, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022 New Exhibit at Whitley County Historical Museum Miami Tribe Representatives meet the French Ambassador By Diane Hunter, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Staff Article The Whitley County Historical Museum opened a new exhibit, meehkweelintamankwi aanchsahaaciki: Remembering Our Forced Removal, on October 6, 2021. The new exhibit features objects donated from the Eiteljorg museum such as a ribbonwork display and a traditional wiikiaami. The Museum opened the new exhibit on the date of Myaamia removal from Myaamionki. A presentation on the history of this era, with an interactive timeline, allowed visitors to view the shrinking of Myaamia homelands following a timeline of land cessions. The Museum’s Director Dani Tippmann finds the exhibit especially important because, “So much is needed and most people here don’t even know that we’re here, let alone of our removal.” The exhibit also features a memorial to the lives lost during removal and those that survived during this difficult time in our history. Complementing the exhibit’s opening, a series of six events with the following speakers and programs were presented: Diane Hunter – “Myaamiaki ‘Miami People’: A Living People with a Past” Diane spoke about the history of Miami people since time immemorial and about the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma today. George Ironstrack – “eempaapiikinamankwi kinepwaayoneminaani ‘Picking up the Threads of our Knowledge:’ The Impact of Forced Removal on the Revitalization of Myaamia Language and Culture”. Katrina Mitten – “Art and Assimilation: The effect of Removal on Those Allowed to Remain”. Katrina shared the effects of removal on the Miami People and the art that they produce. Todd Pelfry – “Mainsprings of the Wildcat: The Making of Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville”. Dani Tippmann – “Myaamia Plant Traditions”. Dani spoke about the use of indigenous plants by Miami people for use as food, medicine and technology. ENROLLING IN THE MIAMI TRIBE OF OKLAHOMA www.miamination.com Under the “Services” tab scroll down to “Enrollment” and click to enter the page - at the bottom of the page, under “Enrollment Resources” click on the Enrollment Application. For assistance, contact Tera Hatley at thatley@ miamination.com or by phone at 918-541-1324. French Ambassador to the United States Philippe Etienne is presented with a blanket by Diane Hunter, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, outside the Fort Ouiatenon blockhouse, Friday, May 21, 2021 in West Lafayette, Ind. Photo Credit: Nikos Frazier/Journal & Courier For probably the first time in more than 250 years, the Miami and the French met government to government on May 21, 2021 at Fort Ouiatenon near Lafayette, Indiana. French Ambassador to the United States Philippe Etienne and French Consul Général Guillaume Lacroix came to visit the site of the first French Fort in what is now Indiana. Among the more than 40 people invited to this high-security event were Diane Hunter, Miami Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, and Rebecca Hawkins, consulting archaeologist for the Miami Tribe. Ambassador Etienne gave a brief speech on the long history of the relationship between France and the United States and his interest in learning more about the early French history in the area of Fort Ouiatenon. After the Ambassador’s talk, Diane and Rebecca had the opportunity to meet him and Consul Général Lacroix and, in our Myaamia tradition, to give them gifts. As a sign of friendship, they wrapped the Ambassador in the gift of a blanket, and they gave the Consul Général a print of the painting of Myaamia women by Julie Olds. After giving the Ambassador and the Consul Général each the Tribe’s gift of a copy of myaamia neehi peewaalia kaloosioni mahsinaakani: A Miami-Peoria Dictionary, the Consul Général immediately looked up how to say, “Thank you” in Myaamiaataweenki and learned the word “Neewe.” Both the Ambassador and the Consul Général commented that they love to learn languages and will enjoy this opportunity to learn the Miami language. They also talked about the historic relationships between Myaamiaki and the French and noted that due to early intermarriage with the French, many Myaamiaki have French surnames. The afternoon included a tour of the Ouiatenon Preserve to see the Fort Ouiatenon site. Across the Waapaahšiki Siipiiwi ‘Wabash River’ was once the village of Waayaahtanonki, which was founded by people led from Saakiweeyonki ‘the Coming Out Place’ by a man named Waayaahtanwa. The people came to be known as Waayaahtanooki, from the name of their leader, and eventually, they were called the Wea. Today the Wea are part of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. In the 1600s, due to the Beaver Wars, Myaamiaki, Waayaahtanooki, and other Miami-Illinois speaking people left our homes in what is now Indiana and moved westward into present-day Illinois and Wisconsin. During this time, we began interacting with French traders and missionaries. After we returned to our homes in present-day Indiana, the French wanted the Wea to move closer to Detroit for easier trading. When the Wea chose to remain in their village on the Waapaahšiki Siipiiwi, the French established Fort Ouiatenon across the river from the village. The name ‘Ouiatenon’ was a French version of the village name Waayaahtanonki. The fort no longer exists above ground, but it has left underground remnants. Over many decades, archaeological surveys have revealed the actual location of the fort, as well as the Kickapoo and Mascouten houses that surrounded it. The site of Waayaahtanonki, the Wea village, across the river has not been archaeologically surveyed. The eventful day ended with a visit to a local pub for a brief social time with the Ambassador and Consul Général before the Ambassador had to leave for the airport. Afterward, Colby Bartlett, organizer of the event, told Diane Hunter that the Ambassador said he particularly enjoyed meeting representatives of the Miami Tribe. CONNECT WITH YOUR MYAAMIA COMMUNITY THROUGH FACEBOOK - JOIN THE GROUP AT “MYAAMIAKI MIAMI TRIBE OF OKLAHOMA” WATCH www.miamination.com FOR BULLETINS AND EVENT FLIERS 4B Aatotankiki Myaamiaki, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022 Boarding Schools By Dr. Cameron Shriver, Reprinted from the Aacimotaatiiyankwi Myaamia Community Blog, posted July 9, 2021 Reprinted from the Miami Tribe’s community blog, found online at “cultural genocide” when discussing Aacimotaatiiyankwi.org. Readers please be warned that this post, as non-fatal policies. These include, reprinted here and as found in the blog, contains distressing details. for instance, the forcible transfer of Recent news coming from Canada, particularly from the grounds children away from their parent’s group, of Kamloops Indian Residential School, Marieval Indian Residential intentional limits on reproduction, or School, St. Eugene’s Mission School and just recently the Kuper Island the extermination of group traditions, Residential School, has illuminated a sobering truth: for many Indiglanguage, religion, and so forth. enous children, school was a place of suffering, trauma, and death. U.S. “Boarding school” is the term that is Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has announced a new Federal in the widest current use, although Indian Boarding School Initiative to investigate the scope of Native “indoctrination camp” is applicable and American deaths and burials at former Indian schools. helps quickly deliver the gravity of the Following similar calls to action for non-Native people (like me) topic. I trust I am not breaking news to make themselves useful, this post is an attempt to create a resource to when I write that Myaamia people have answer some common questions about residential and boarding schools. experienced these genocidal policies. Dr. Cameron Shriver I teach and research on this topic, and I am continually learning more. I also hope I am not breaking news in The necessary attention to boarding schools will continue to shine revealing that Myaamia people survived, and continue to resist and more light on a distressing aspect of American and Myaamia history. revitalize. If there is to be a similar “truth and reconciliation” development in the United States as has progressed in Canada, it will require significant Did Myaamia children attend boarding schools? time and immense listening, particularly from non-Native people. If Yes. At this time, we are aware of well over one hundred Myyou have comments, concerns, questions, or improvements, my email is aamia children, adolescents, and young adults who attended Indian shrivecm@miamioh.edu, or Twitter dm Camshriver. This post is by no schools. The total number of Myaamia students who survived assimilameans intended as an tive schools may be ending point to the considerably more. conversation about Here is a working American Indian or database of Myaamia Myaamia boarding attendees in Indian school experiences. schools. Please be Since in touch with addithis topic can be tional information so distressing, this post that we can update has been separated it. I thank Meghan into several sections Dorey and George for readers who Ironstrack for addwish to jump to the ing information, and information on a Jared Nally for sharparticular topic: ing archives from the What were boarding Indian Leaderwhich schools? has been invaluable. Were boarding Myaamia stuschools genocide? dents came from Did Myaamia Indiana, from Kansas, children attend and from Oklahoma. boarding schools? They went to VirginWhen were boarding Image: Jessie White, ‘Waapimaankwa,’ at Haskell Institute, graduating in 1894. Oklahoma ia, to Pennsylvania, schools operating? to Oklahoma, New Historical Society. Waapimaankwa is top row, third from left. Please note, the OHS mislabels Did Myaamia people this photograph as Shawnee Indian School. Mexico, California, die in boarding and Kansas. Some schools? schools were close to home, such as Seneca Indian School in WyanWere Myaamia children forced to attend boarding schools? dotte, Oklahoma, where several Miamis attended in the early twentieth Why boarding schools? century. Others were far away, such as Hampton Institute in Hampton, What are some resources? What were boarding schools? Virginia, where Frank Goodboo went in the 1880s. At the bottom of this Like Canada’s state-sponsored residential schools, United States post is a working (draft) map of boarding schools attended by Myaamia boarding schools intended to remake Indigenous communities into people. American individuals. They were sponsored and funded by the federal Some Miami attendees, such as Frank Aveline, went east and government, often in conjunction with Catholic or Protestant societies. apparently never came back to their community. Some, such as Jesse The title of one well-known book on the subject sets the tone: the White, made careers as teachers in institutions similar to those they boarding schools implemented “education for extinction.” Between had attended, traveling from school to school and eventually out of the the 1870s and 1930s, about 350 boarding schools for Indians operated community. Some received physical punishments. “The first whipping in the United States, and in the first decades of the twentieth century, I received was for talking Indian at school,” Dave Geboe said in a a majority of Native children enrolled in an Indian school, whether a 1930s interview. Mildred Watson, who wrote an invaluable memoir of boarding school far from home, or a day school run by U.S. government her experiences at Seneca Indian School where she attended in the late employees. Indian educational policy assumed that by housing and 1920s, acknowledged poor conditions. The doctor never came; clothing socializing children away from their parents, institutions could more was the “poorest material,” discipline was “excessive and demeaning.” effectively “civilize” or assimilate them to mainstream American As for the food: “Often weevils floated on top of dried corn, peas, or culture, including Christianity, English-only language, and “modern” beans boiling in steam cookers. We skimmed the larvae and hoped most work habits. of them were captured.” Some Miamis, such as Mildred’s brother-inlaw Addison Walker (who named his son “Haskell,” presumably after Were boarding schools genocide? his alma mater) found real belonging and love from their schools. It is common and accurate to label boarding schools as Confronting similar stories, Brenda Child, focusing on Ojibwe students institutions of “genocide,” and students (who survived) as “survivors.” in a similar time period, asked: “What do we make today of boarding These are useful labels. They are specific. Genocide indicates a school narratives that might be described as happy?” Stories of deliberate attempt to destroy a people. Given the common linking trauma, indeed, of terror, sit uncomfortably with some of the pleasant between genocide and the Jewish Holocaust, sometimes people clarify experiences that some Myaamia people expressed. Continued on page 5B. Aatotankiki Myaamiaki, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022 Boarding Schools 5B By Cam Shriver, continued from page 4B When were boarding schools operating? despite the protestations of their father who said they already attended Government boarding schools–military-style institutions that housed an unnamed day school, perhaps the Miami or Peoria schoolhouse. and controlled Indian youth–lasted in the United States from 1879 to “Well, we never got to finish our dinner. They picked us up and took us the 1930s. In some cases, boarding schools and other Indian schools off. Now that’s the way it was a long time ago,” Rose said. Her mother, continued operating into the 1980s. Chilocco, for instance, closed in Sarah Cass, spoke Myaamia and even provided a story that appears in 1980, although I am unaware of Myaamia attendance past the 1920s. the Myaamia and Peoria Narratives and Winter Stories volume. As for Residential Schools, the Canadian version of the same system, operated Rose? “I’ve forgot more than I remember,” the eighty-two year old told longer, declining in the 1950s and finally closing the last residential her interviewer in the 1960s. schools in the 1990s. Some went willingly. Thomas Peconga and Lucy Pimyotamah Dozens of Myaamia people attended these institutions in the sent their teenaged son, Willis, to Carlisle in 1905. He had attended the period between 1870local Marion grammar 1930. It was an era school–not an Indian that coincided with the school. Willis fled back privatization and sale of to Marion, Indiana later Myaamia tribal lands, that year. He obviously widespread travel to did not like Carlisle, find work, and a rapid and his parents were decline in Myaamiaconvinced that the curspeaking households. riculum was not apWe should not forget plicable for their son. schooling before and His mother wrote to the after this “boarding superintendent, Major school” period, includWilliam Mercer: “we ing Protestant and Cathdon’t want him to run olic mission schools, off again but we want as well as reservation him released Honarbly.” day schools and vocaThe Pecongas wrote tional schools. These to their Congressman, hewed to the same who intervened. Willis general philosophy as Peconga returned home. the better-known boardHis skill was papermaking schools, that Native ing, and he traveled the American people needed country in search of The 1889 graduating class of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, PA. Myaamia English-language, Chrissteady work. citizen Esther Miller was a graduate. She is seated third from the left in the second row, to For many Myaamia tian, and work-specific the right (and lower) of the woman in the dark dress. training to survive in a country not made for them. I think it is fair to say that boarding schools affected each Myaamia family. Survivors became parents and grandparents. Did Myaamia people die in boarding schools? Yes. I am aware of one Myaamia person buried at boarding schools. Sadie S. Miles, from the Owl family who was removed to Kansas and Oklahoma, passed away at Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1907. She was fourteen. “She was a great favorite with her companions, many of whom were overcome with grief when they learned of her death,” the Native-run newsletter reported. At Carlisle Indian Industrial School, almost 200 Native American youths lie buried in the cemetery, an average of more than five each year. That I am aware of one death does not mean that only families, the boarding school era was just one type of schooling set in a long trajectory of voluntary and compulsory education over generations. Take the case of Josephine Pooler, who attended Haskell in Kansas (and married Osage tribal citizen Jessie Pappin, who also attended Haskell). Her mother, Mary Louisa Richardville Pooler, attended the Quapaw Indian Boarding School. Mary’s father, Thomas F. Richardville, attended Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Thomas’s father, Pimicinwa ‘Crescent’ apparently did not attend a Euro-American school. Pimicinwa’s father, Jean Baptiste Richardville, attended a French-language academy in Montreal or Trois-Rivières. During the boarding school era, many Myaamia families included two or more generations of boarding school survivors. Why boarding schools? If Native American people were doomed to vanish, then radically one Myaamia person died in a boarding school. (I welcome any transforming them would save them. At least, that was the basic information, and you may choose to reach out to a family member or rationale from the 1870s into the 1930s. One of the architects, Richard tribal or MHMA or Myaamia Center staff, if you choose.) The record is Henry Pratt, famously said in an 1892 paper “that all the Indian there not a perfect representation of the past. Boarding school administrators is in the race should be dead. Kill the Indian in him, and save the promoted their schools. Their records, like all historical records, are man.” More graphically, he wrote: “I believe in immersing the Indians subjective and require interpretation. There were motivations to hide in our civilization and when we get them under, holding them there unhealthy conditions. In other words, the record includes “silences,” as until they are thoroughly soaked.” Like deportation and removal, well; topics left under-reported or under-documented. We can access like privatization and allotment, and like other harmful policies, records that schools wanted produced, shared, or saved. We cannot assimilation via schooling was promoted as a benevolent solution access records destroyed or lost. We cannot access records never to a persistent problem. President Theodore Roosevelt summed up a created. We know, from testimony of survivors, that many forms of typical view in his State of the Union address in 1901. Allotment “is a abuse proliferated at schools in different times and places, and children mighty pulverizing engine to break up the tribal mass,” he announced died while at school. to Congress. “In the schools the education should be elementary and largely industrial,” he continued, enunciating that Indian education Were Myaamia children forced to attend boarding schools? should create an Indian working class. (In the twentieth century, policyYes, in some cases. After 1891, attendance at an assimilation-oriented makers transitioned from education for equality, to education for Indian school was mandatory. Thus, some were taken, such as Rose dependency. Schools focused on preparing Native students for working Keiser Carver. “We’ve been informed that you’ve got two girls here that class life by increasing the focus on Euro-American trades for boys and needs to be in school,” the local government agent announced upon arEuro-American domestic skills for girls.) riving at their home near Miami, Oklahoma. The men needed to collect their charges and bring them to Quapaw Industrial Boarding School, This article can be found online at the Myaamia community blog spot aacimotaatiiyankwi.org 6B Aatotankiki Myaamiaki, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022 Student Experiences in the Heritage Award Program at Miami University By Haley Shea and Megan Mooney Attendance in the Heritage Award Program (HAP) at Miami University those questions and not second-guess themselves. (MU) creates opportunities for diverse experiences, and there are also Many students also take on roles within the community. Some some commonalities that many myaamia students face. I myself am a have formal roles like working for the Myaamia Center or engaging in product of the HAP and could not speak more highly of this opportunity certain projects with the tribal community. Others have informal roles that I was afforded because of the unique relationship between the like coordinating social gatherings or mentoring younger students. SeMiami Tribe of Oklahoma and Miami University. Today I work as nior students talk about finding a role that makes them feel like they are part of the Nipwaayoni Acquisition and Assessment Team (NAAT) at part of the community and they are important. the Myaamia Center, conducting research on the impact that language Finally, the way senior students talk about their experiences is and cultural revitalization has on myaamiaki. One subset of my work now through the lens of the myaamia value system. As one example, involves examining the experience of students in the Heritage Award during their senior year, many students want to be able to “give back” Program. This article will describe some of the general conclusions to the tribal community as a means of reciprocity. They hope to be able NAAT has been able to make through interviews with students dating to find the ways they can contribute to the tribe as they have been given back to 2012. many opportunities throughout their lifetime because of membership in Historically, many of the students who come into the HAP talk the tribe. about having a lack of knowledge about the tribe in general and their Since NAAT began our work with students in the HAP in 2012 own myaamia identity in particular. Some have always known they (when I was a student at MU myself!), we have seen some changes in were myaamia but didn’t know what that meant, while others found out the student experience. For example, many students are now beginning about their heritage shortly before attending MU. This typically comes to attend the program with extensive experience in tribal programming with some anxiety about and general tribal knowltheir lack of knowledge edge. Previously, there and also a sense of excitewould only be a student ment about the opportuhere or there with prior nity to learn about their experience/knowledge, we heritage. This ultimately now have several in each means that students are cohort. This means that going through many tranmany of those students sitional states all at the take on more of a leadersame time. ship role by sharing their Many first year students knowledge with other in the HAP also have a students. difficult transition into With the addition of the university space. several program requireThey experience the ments, we also see that a typical transitional issues bond or sense of cohesion like homesickness and in the student group each increases in academic deyear happens more quickmands that most students The story of the relationship shared between the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and ly. When I was a student, Miami University in Oxford, OH, spans fifty years of partnership, reciprocity and respect. face. However, there is several of us didn’t really an added layer of comconnect with one another plexity where some feel “different” from their peers at MU when they for at least a semester or even a full year because we didn’t have events arrive. Many MU students come from White, suburban/urban, affluoutside of the classroom setting. However, now that there is pre-semesent families with a long family legacy at MU. As a result, when some ter programming for first year students, formal and informal mentoring myaamia students experience additional financial pressures, are the first opportunities, and a retreat at the beginning of the year, students tend to in their family to go to college at all, and/or have completely different connect quite quickly. They are also connecting across cohorts; freshexperiences from their peers, the normal transition can become a lot men are able to connect with sophomores and juniors rather than simply more difficult. connecting with other freshmen. However, despite not knowing much about their heritage and having a difficult transition to college, one of the primary factors that connects first year students to their myaamia heritage is a sense of pride. Family members including parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles, and cousins often encourage them to be proud of their heritage. For example, in response to a question about what it means to be myaamia, one student said “The main thing for me is pride. I definitely was raised to have a lot of pride in my heritage. That’s a big thing for being Myaamia. You need to have a big sense of pride in your heritage for sure.” Generally, this pride seems to be a uniting factor for myaamiaki across time and has promoted resilience despite traumas and living in diaspora. By senior year, the primary experience in the HAP is a sense of connectedness and belonging. They feel they have created high quality connections with the other students in the program. At this point, they have gone through many vulnerable experiences together that promote connection and have learned the many ways they are historically and contemporarily connected to one another. Many talk about class feeling like “family” rather than a traditional academic setting. This also extends to spaces outside of the classroom as well and leads to positive changes in many areas of their lives. Additionally, seniors often feel that they have incorporated the myaamia knowledge system into their personal identity. They now know what it means to be a myaamia person and how to communicate that with others. When faced with uncomfortable situations (like when people at Miami asked me if I live in a house versus a teepee or why all Native people go to college for free), they now have tools, knowledge, and stability in their identity to be able to respond more confidently to Lastly, it seems like within the broader MU community, there is greater awareness of the Myaamia Center work and the HAP. The Myaamia Center has gained national and international attention in the last several years (NEH grant, Honoring Nations Award, Daryl Baldwin as McArthur Fellow, etc.), bringing notoriety to the program as a whole. Many students and faculty across campus have increased awareness that the Myaamia Center is on campus, and a lot of education about what that means occurs through relationships between students in the HAP and other students and faculty/staff they interact with. This comes with both challenges and opportunities as students are able to connect many arenas of their life (majors, extracurriculars, etc.) with the HAP and their myaamia identity. One specific story of these challenges and opportunities comes from an alumna of the HAP and MU, Megan Mooney. When I first arrived at Miami, I was, in a word, overwhelmed. Oxford may be a small town only a few hours drive from my hometown, but I’d never actually lived away from home and as Haley described, it was a bit of an adjustment. I was fortunate enough that my older sister Jackie was already attending Miami and enrolled in the tribe class, so I was at least acquainted with the town and the concept of attending Miami. However, we had grown up in a family that was largely ignorant of our heritage. I knew I was Miami, but I certainly couldn’t have told you I was myaamia—I didn’t know the word even existed. Thanks to Jackie, my family was able to get a peripheral knowledge of Miami language and culture. That’s one of the great bonuses of an education at Miami, it doesn’t just extend to you, but whoever in your family you can share it with. Continued on page 6B 7B Aatotankiki Myaamiaki, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022 A Talk With Myaamia Artist Katrina Mitten Katrina Mitten is an award-winning Myaamia artist whose work has been exhibited across the country. Mitten, who was raised on the Forks of the Wabash near the home her family lived in for generations, grew up listening to her grandmother’s stories about their family. “I’ve always known who I am, where my people come from,” she said, and through her work, she has expanded her own knowledge of the tribe and shares that knowledge with others. Her flair for artistry began in her youth. Mitten recalled an occurrence in first grade at a strict Catholic school in which her teacher threatened to fail her in penmanship if she refused to stop adding flowers and curly-qs. “So I failed,” she said, laughing, “Because I was stubborn. I am not gonna stop putting my flowers-it’s not pretty without the flowers. And now that’s most of what I bead.” She has been practicing her traditional style of beadwork since she was 12 years old by teaching herself with the aid of some of her grandmother’s pieces. She studied the individual stitches and tried to emulate the work from there. “I say that my teachers are the beadworkers of the past because they left those things behind for me to be able to see,” said Mitten. Besides her grandmother’s work, she would find inspiration from pieces at powwows and museums and try to analyze how their artists made them. As Mitten’s work developed she found that her pieces have a deeper meaning to convey. “I tell stories with all my work,” Mitten said, giving examples of a bag that displays one of her grandmother’s stories of Kiilsoquah and a framed piece that shows the Myaamia story of creation. She hopes the beautiful aesthetic of her pieces also invites people to study the context of her work that might otherwise have been overlooked. “I like to take things that are sad and horrible and make them beautiful,” Mitten said. She has tackled subjects like removal, missing and murdered indigenous women, and residential schools. A recent work of hers called Exposed, examined the latter. Using an old-timey box camera and three of the exposures, she displays in black-and-white the before and after of children placed in these schools to show the Megan Mooney drastic juxtaposition of their smiling, happy faces opposite to the despairing ones the schools produced. She added beadwork butterflies in flight to demonstrate the vibrance of language and culture being leeched from the children’s lives. The vibrance may have been taken from those of the past, but Katrina’s colorful work is only an attestation that the revitalization of Myaamia culture and language is taking hold. Traditional practices may have lain broken, but Mitten seeks to reforge the links in the chain that were broken for her and those that came before her. One of the ways she is doing so is by teaching her grandchildren about her artistry. Several years ago she won an award through Indiana University that allowed her to select an apprentice. She chose her seven-year-old granddaughter. Though the university saw it as a non-traditional choice nothing could have been more traditional to Mitten. “We are people of today,” Mitten said, and no doubt, with her stubborn passion and family legacy, a people of tomorrow as well. Nationally acclaimed, award winning Myaamia artist Katrina Mitten. Student Experiences in the Heritage Award Program at Miami University Continued from page 6B. That first semester, I don’t recall how often I interacted in tribe class, but I imagine it was minimal. My lack of communication was not a lack of interest, but rather a symptom of my nervousness. Despite my anxiety I was fortunate enough to be asked to be one of three students to head to Washington D.C. to help prepare for that year’s National Breath of Life Conference. We spent a week in the Smithsonian Archives finding useful, linguistic materials for the participating tribes. The trip alone would be an incredible experience, but the best part for me was the friendships I made. When I got back to class, I felt more confident knowing that I had a larger support network than before. The importance of community was talked about often in class and though I understood it as a concept, I don’t think I understood it practically until that trip. That aspect of community became the most important to me over my time at Miami. I made more friends within the tribe class and with the tribe as a whole as I began participating more at tribal events and being a counselor at Eewaansapita. I’m still learning about my heritage, language, and culture, and likely will be for the rest of my life. I’m glad that I get that privilege, but mostly I’m glad for the family I’ve found in the tribe that I get to share it with. Myaamia Students playing the mahkisina game at one of their presemester events 8B Aatotankiki Myaamiaki, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022 Cecaahkwa in Stone “That corner needs something and I just don’t know what.” I would start every summer with that statement for the last 9 years. Mulching had proved futile because when a hard rain fell that corner would flood and all the mulch ended up in the storm sewer. A landscape architect drew up plans but the project never took off. Without a vision I just floundered in the land of indecision and I hoped the 3 large planters of perennial flowers would suggest to the neighbors that I, at least, was trying. In a similar way, my journey into the knowledge of my myaamiaki heritage had starts and stops. My mother called me her papoose and said I was born with dark hair to my shoulders. My aunt told me about my great-grandmother, at 23, dying of a broken heart. My father told me the stories of growing up in Peru, riding through fields on his horse Prince and jumping from the top of Seven Pillars into the Mississinewa. I saw family photos of Native Americans that I would learn were my relatives: John Bull Mongosa, the bow maker and renown fiddler, was my great-great grandfather. When I was 11 there was concern about “proving” we were Miami because of a payroll allotment that was sure to make us all rich. Many dinner conversations centered around how my father, my brother, and I would spend that vast amount of money. When that payout actually occurred, it helped with my grandfather’s burial expenses; he being the orphaned son of my heart-broken great grandmother. My children always chose the Miami as the tribe to research in their classroom Native American units. I enrolled my children in MNI. In our youngest son’s senior year of high school an article in the tribal newsletter grabbed my attention – it was congratulating a student for being the recipient of the Heritage Scholarship at Miami of Ohio. We applied. Everything changed. Bobbe Burke guided us in the process of applying to Miami of Ohio and the Heritage Scholarship. I became the student and our son became the teacher as he learned more through his participation in the Heritage classes. I learned about my community’s removal (who knew we had relatives in Kansas and Oklahoma?), I learned Daryl and Karen Baldwin taught their kids our language (and lived in a tent in Montana! And that we had a language to learn! Forever grateful to them, George Ironstrack and David Costa). I met other team members at the Myaamia Submission by Kathy Carter Young Center. We joined MTO. My family camped with akima, ate with his twin sister Julie, & Dustin Olds niišonaminki akima, met Donya (beautiful blue eyes) and all the other dedicated relatives that work at tribal headquarters in Miami, Oklahoma and Fort Wayne, Indiana. What an awakening! This past July I joined the Eemamwickiki online Neehsapita group. I had learned much by osmosis when I took my grandchildren to eewansaapita a few years ago and was eager to learn more. I loved the theme of earth and sky, ašiihkiwi neehi kiišikwi. I accepted the challenge to say what the weather was in myaamiaataweenki. I got emotional when I heard ciinkwia tell the story of the Coming Out Place in our native tongue. I enjoyed the projects….and from my work table would look up and see that empty corner -then one day I had a vision. The corner needed to have a symbol, a Above is Shelby Carter, Kathy’s granddaughter, myaamia symbol in stone that would not wash pictured working on the Cecaahkwa symbol. away in the occasional flood waters. I found the crane. It would fit perfectly in the space. I’d make sure it was facing Seven Pillars. My I heard the stories family enthusiastically embraced the vision A tragic great-grandmother and agreed to help. The landscape company An orphaned grandfather embraced the vision and helped me pick out My father as a boy jumping into the the stone (they asked to feature it on their Mississinewa website). Atop Seven Pillars I love my corner. The containers of flowers are still there but they are not the twigh twee! twigh twee! centerpiece. People walk by, drive by and peemitanaahkwahki sakaahkweelo! stop. When they ask I have the opportunity niila myaamia to teach them about the symbol of the crane, used as a signature on a treaty many years ago. George Ironstrack wrote that Myaamia I learn about removal people would mark the edges of our lands by About relatives in other lands blazing the head of cecaahkwa into trees along That I am part of an extended community major trails. My corner now bears our mark in A language that gives breath to my soul tribute to our myaamia heritage. niila myaamia! twigh twee! twigh twee! Cecaahkwa in Stone peemitanaahkwahki sakaahkweelo! niila myaamia twigh twee! twigh twee! peemitanaahkwahki sakaahkweelo! I grab ahold of tree limbs niila myaamia That better my understanding My father told me so My grandfather’s eyes told me so My aunt told me so My son told me so twigh twee! twigh twee! peemitanaahkwahki sakaahkweelo! niila myaamia Of what makes me who I am twigh twee! twigh twee! peemitanaahkwahki sakaahkweelo! niila myaamia -waapankihkwa Kathy Carter Young 2021 About the Myaamia Ethnobotanical Database mahkihkiwa.org Named Mahkihkiwa – herb medicines as a reminder of the importance of plants to living well from a Myaamia point of view. If there is a plant you want to know more about, you can search its common name in English and then learn its Myaamia name and scientific name. At the bottom of each entry, there are drop-down menus for Myaamia Archival Sources and Botanical Sources. In the Myaamia Archival Sources menu you will find historical records from over 100 years ago as well as plant information that elders shared in the 1990s. Does your family have plant related information or stories to add? Let us know in the comments and it just might end up in Mahkihkiwa. Myaamia Publications - Vol. 16, No. 3, 2022 - Section C - Noošonke Siipionki Myaamionki The Journey of the Myaamia Center The Myaamia Center is now a twenty-year-old institution for research into myaamia language and culture that has grown exponentially from the time it was founded in 2001. It began with just one worker, but now has sixteen fulland part-time employees, is internationally recognized, and has played a seminal role in myaamia language and culture revitalization. The relationship between the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and Miami University, where the Myaamia Center is located, has seen the graduation of 100 myaamia students and the rate of graduation only seems to increase each year. These tribe students are given an opportunity to learn about and grow into their heritage at Miami by taking a class about the Miami Tribe and engaging in tribal events. At many events, a common activity that takes place is the ‘community web’. What occurs is that the participants in the activity stand in a circle and answer “what makes a community?”. Common answers are singing, dancing, and games, though there can be any number of correct answers. As participants give their answer for what makes a community, they are passed a ball of string, a piece of which they hold on to, and as the activity goes on, the string criss crosses over itself and forms a web. The activity illustrates that a community needs people, and not just people, but people who interact and connect with each other. Without that, we are nothing. There have been many reverberations along the threads of myaamia history, but a recent and arguably one of the most important has been cultural and language revitalization. One of the first to pick up the threads of revitalization was Daryl Baldwin. Daryl was that first employee of what was then called the Myaamia Project, back when it operated out of what he described as similar to a closet. Now Executive Director of the Myaamia Center, which is now housed in a building called the Bonham House, Daryl has received many accolades for his work including a 2016 ‘genius grant’ from the MacArthur Foundation and most recently his confirmation to the National Council for the Humanities. He is not too fond of the attention it brings him, but if it helps the Center, he begrudgingly accepts it. He was only ever interested in increasing his own cultural knowledge and sharing it with his community members, but as the web grew so did his involvement. Growing up, Daryl knew about his myaamia heritage and from his understanding of myaamia history he knew the small, northern Ohio town he grew up in was just next to the site of the Battle of Fallen Timbers, a devastating loss for the Miamis in the late 18th century. The solemnity of the area did not deter Daryl from enjoying his childhood, but enriched his understanding of his people. After all, he was busy playing tag and hide-and-seek with the other kids, notably with the girl next door who would later become his wife. When he graduated high school, his father gave him a piece of their past. “One of the things that happens in myaamia families is By Megan Mooney their connection to their past is oftentimes a box or a bag of either annual meeting notes or legal papers or whatever,” said Daryl Baldwin, “and my family was no different.” In it were birth and death certificates, documents of legal proceedings, and down at the bottom several pages of Myaamiaataweenki, Miami language. “It was literally the first time I had ever seen myaamia language,” said Baldwin with a hint of awe in his voice. Those few pages lit a spark in Daryl, and his interest in language began. They weren’t fluent by any means, but Daryl Baldwin interacting with students during Tribe class at Miami with those pages, Daryl University. Photo courtesy of John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur and his now wife, Karen, Foundation. would stick note cards home. and pieces of paper all As his comprehension and passion for around their home with the names of objects language grew, all around him sprung up written out in myaamia. others doing the same. During the summers in As they started having children, Daryl Indiana, Miami language camps were popping thought as many parents do, of what he might up that brought together tribal members from pass on to them. Despite the language laying both Oklahoma and Indiana. Events such as dormant at the time, he hoped he would be these attracted a young linguist by the name of able to pass on whatever piece of it he could David Costa who was writing his dissertation to them. Karen, right by his side, learned and on Miami language and travelled to Indiana taught them as well. looking for speakers. In 1996, the Miami Tribe They travelled from Southern Ohio of Oklahoma won a grant funding a week-long where Daryl got his Associates degree, to program to instruct Miami tribe members to Montana where he got his Bachelor’s, they learn and teach the language themselves. Daryl taught their childr [Text truncated at 120,000 characters. The full text is on the page linked above.] --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Amiami_oklahoma%3Af985f647a5dad087. Public record. Not legal advice.