From Miami University to the Great Miami River, the geography of the Miami Valley carries the name of the Myaamia people who have called these lands home since time immemorial.
The Myaamia people’s deep connection to their homelands existed long before the United States of America — that these ties endure today despite centuries of colonization and immeasurable loss is a testament to their strength and resilience as a people.
The living Myaamia community, known officially as the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, has more than 6,000 citizens in 49 states.
Today, they’re engaged in a vibrant resurgence of their heritage language, myaamiaataweenki, and cultural practices like storytelling, dance, and games.
These are the threads that connect all Myaamia people across time and space.
A traditional Myaamia home
The Myaamia term wiikiaami traditionally referred to a dome-shaped structure, typically covered in cattail reed mats or bark, that served as a home for families. Inside the home, stories and knowledge were shared with younger generations. wiikiaami is now used by Myaamia people to refer to any house or dwelling where they live.
Designed by Cultural Design Studio Architecture students at Miami University, the Richard and Emily Smucker Wiikiaami Room in the Armstrong Student Center brings some of the structural elements of a wiikiaami, including its round shape and an entrance on the east facing the rising sun, to a community space at the heart of campus.
Myaamia artist Jody Gamble incorporated ribbonwork patterns into decorative wood inlay strips that extend from the floor through the seating to represent the poles that would support the frame of a wiikiaami. The display cases highlight the history of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and how they have revitalized Myaamia language, culture, and art.
At first the Miamis came out of the water
With these words, the oldest remembered Myaamia story begins. Where the St. Joseph River meets Lake Michigan near present-day South Bend, Indiana, the Myaamia people grasped their way up the riverbank.
There at saakiiweeyonki (the Confluence), the Myaamia arrived at their homelands. They built villages along the waapaahšiki siipiiwi (‘Wabash River’ Valley) from kiihkayonki (Fort Wayne, Indiana) to waayaahtanonki (Lafayette, Indiana) as the population grew. From this way of life, the Myaamia take their name, “the Downstream People.”
Their journeys, sometimes forced and sometimes chosen, have taken them far from saakiiweeyonki. Yet a thread of continuity links all Myaamia people back to where they first came out of the water.
Family
The Myaamia are a contemporary people with a past, not from the past. Their community is connected by a shared language, culture, geography, and kinship networks. Through periods of great tragedy and loss, it was these kinship bonds that held the community together.
The community also has a shared governance structure, the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, which is a sovereign nation headquartered in northeast Oklahoma. More than 6,000 Myaamia people are citizens of the Nation, but live across the globe.
Lunar calendar
The Myaamia lunar calendar developed over generations and reflects a deep connection to the ecology of their homelands.
Each month follows the moon’s phases and is named for a key ecological change associated with that time. Unlike the solar-based Gregorian calendar that is typically 365 days long, a typical lunar year is 354 days long.
Today, Myaamia people use this calendar to connect to their lands and each other.
This is the first in a three part series about Myaamia people. To learn more:
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