Miami's Myaamia Project becomes Myaamia Center
Mar 07, 2013Miami University and the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma are expanding the scope of the Myaamia Project by launching a new Myaamia Center located on the Oxford campus. The center will carry forward the work of revitalizing Myaamia language and culture that began through the project more than a decade ago.
Recent Myaamia initiatives
• Students working with Doug Troy, professor of computer science and software engineering at Miami University, have developed mobile apps that help teach the Myaamia language.
• With music and tribal student input, two new verses were added to Miami University’s alma mater in the Myaamia language.
• The soon-to-be opened Armstrong Student Center includes a meeting room named the Wiikiaami Room, the Myaamia word for “home” or “lodge,” and the room’s display cases will hold rotating educational materials about the Tribe and the relationship with Miami University.
• The Myaamia Center is a participant in the Endangered Languages Project, designed for researchers, students and indigenous community members to find and share the most up-to-date and comprehensive information about endangered languages from around the world.
• Miami graduate Brad Kasberg, recipient of the $30,000 Joanna Jackson Goldman Memorial Prize in 2012, is working with the Miami Tribe to develop a sustainable land use plan that will address the cultural, ecological and economical needs of the tribe.
The Myaamia Center is a tribally directed research entity with two
main purposes. The first is to conduct in-depth research to assist
tribal educational initiatives aimed at the preservation of language and
culture. This research creates a wide range of educational models and
materials for community language and cultural programs.
The second purpose is to expose undergraduate and graduate students
at Miami University to tribal efforts in revitalizing their language and
culture. Students gain experience through a wide range of activities
including visits to tribal headquarters in Oklahoma, direct involvement
in research initiatives, class visitations by center staff and access to
Miami Tribe language and cultural resources.
According to Miami Tribe Chief Thomas Gamble, “The Miami Tribe of
Oklahoma and Miami University have a unique relationship initiated forty
years ago as a result of common geographic, historical, cultural and
educational interests. Over time, this relationship developed a strong
bond of mutual respect, trust and support. The Tribe is honored to have
such a long-term commitment with the university which is exemplified in
this recent transition of the Myaamia Project into the Myaamia Center.”
The Miami Tribe, which inhabited a portion of the lower Great Lakes
region including Southwest Ohio until the 1800s, and Miami University
are linked through history and a growing mutually enriching
relationship.
This unique collaboration is captured in the Myaamia term used to
express this relationship ‘neepwaantiinki,’ “learning from each other.”
Over the years this partnership grew through several initiatives.
Scholarship funds are available for qualified tribal students. This
support has been influential in recruiting more than 80 Myaamia students
to the university since 1991.
“As indigenous communities across the country and beyond continue
the struggle to preserve the unique identities that are expressed
through their languages and cultures, the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and
Miami University have found ways to begin reversing this trend,” said
Daryl Baldwin, the director of the center. “Through unique partnering
and resource sharing, the effort is changing the course of how tribal
members are experiencing their heritage language in the modern world.
There is a willingness by both entities to reach out to a new generation
of youth.”
“Bound by our common roots, we seek to learn from and contribute to
each other. We are very proud of our deep connections to each other,”
said Miami President David Hodge.
The Myaamia Center’s work is divided among four offices that will be
conducting an array of research projects and developing educational
materials. The offices include technology and publications, education
and outreach, language research and cultural ecology.
The Myaamia Center provides a means for staff to reach beyond the
boundaries of the university to collaborate with other centers and
institutes who work with native communities in the fields of education
and language and cultural revitalization.
“Participating in a larger network will allow a greater opportunity
for resource sharing and further development of center initiatives,”
said Baldwin.
