If you are interested in supporting specific areas of development or operation, such as student and faculty fellowships, research projects, or other areas of interest, please contact Daryl Baldwin atbaldwidw@miamioh.edufor more information.
Myaamia Center Endowment
By partnering with the Myaamia Center Endowment at Miami University, you are directly supporting the mission of the Myaamia Center in celebrating and preserving the unique heritage, language, culture and history of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma. As Myaamia people, our heritage is important to our identity. The preservation of our identity ensures our tribal nation will grow and prosper for future generations.
The invaluable partnership between the Miami Tribe and Miami University, has provided the first generation of Myaamia youth in nearly 100 years with the opportunity to learn about their heritage, practice their culture, and speak their native language. This could not be possible without the joint efforts of the Miami Tribe and Miami University, which are supported by the hard work and generosity of those who believe in the importance of tribal education. Our success is demonstrated in the growth of our community and our thriving Myaamia language heard in the community today. The future of our Miami Tribe is limitless due to the united efforts of so many who believe that being Myaamia is something to embrace, share, and be proud of.
To learn more about our current research projects and available resources, please visit ourResearch and Resources Page.
National Breath of Life Archival Institute for Indigenous Languages Endowment
National Breath of Life is a nationally based program housed within the Myaamia Center at Miami University. This program provides training and support for the development of community curated tribal archive for the purpose of language revitalization. To date, National Breath of Life has provided training to 117 community researchers representing 55 different language communities here in the United States and Canada. National Breath of Life is the primary means by which the Myaamia Center supports the development of a national movement for language revitalization and the development of this growing field.
By partnering with National Breath of Life you will be directly supporting the efforts of our tribal community partners in capacity building efforts that directly support development of community curated language archive development. This important work is central to the maintenance and preservation of tribal languages, cultures and worldviews. Tribes often lack resources and training to develop community archives that directly respond to revitalization needs. National Breath of Life provides a continual support platform for ongoing training and development support to our partner communities.
Myaamia Students attend Miami University as part of the Myaamia Heritage Program. The goal of this program is to foster the next generation of Myaamia youth by giving them the opportunity to learn about their Myaamia identity while receiving a quality college education. As a part of the program, our Myaamia students are required to take a series of 1-credit courses where they learn about Myaamia language, culture, history, knowledge system and values.
While the Myaamia Heritage courses give our students a foundation of knowledge, some of the experiences that have the largest impact on our students are the 'extra' events that students can choose to be a part of alongside their Myaamia community. In the past several years, the Myaamia Center has hosted cultural workshops such as ribbonwork and moccasin making. Our students often take part in cultural practices outside of the classroom such as maple sugaring, stomp dancing, and playing Myaamia games. Additionally, each year we take students on trips to Tribal events or to explore the locations that are important to Myaamia people. These high-impact practices create a strong community among Myaamia students and allow them to engage more deeply with their Myaamia language, culture and history. Providing support to the Myaamia Heritage Fund will allow us to help pay for these types of opportunities to ensure that our Myaamia students are able to fully take advantage of every opportunity while they are attending Miami University.
Social Media
The Myaamia Center maintains a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Links to our social media profiles can be found in our page footer.
