Myaamia Lunar Calendar

The myaamia traditional calendar, myaamia kiilhswaakani, observes the lunar cycle that follows the biological and seasonal cycles of any given year. These biological cycles are reflected in the month names.

• Watch a video explanation of the calendar and its components.
• Visit aacimotaatiiyankwi 'A Myaamia Community Blog' for more information.

Our goal was to create a lunar calendar that:

• Observes biological and ecological cycles
• Integrates Gregorian calendar dates
• Observes contemporary cultural events and activities
• Reinforces our connections to the land and sky through the observations reflected in the lunar calendar

Accessing Lunar Calendars

You can download a copy of the most recent lunar calendar from the Myaamia Community Blog.

Note: Each tribal household will receive a calendar in the mail.

Contact our office if you would like to access calendars from prior years (back to 2010).

Project Background

The goal of this project is to reconstruct the traditional myaamia lunar calendar as a means of tracking time for cultural purposes. The traditional calendar observes the lunar cycle that follows the biological and seasonal cycles of any given year. These biological cycles are reflected in the month names.

There are may challenges in reconstructing a lunar calendar system. One of the principal issues is that a lunar calendar year does not sync with a solar calendar year. There is approximately 11 days difference between the lunar and solar years. These 11 days, over time, cause the ecological connections reflected in the lunar calendar names to shift. In historical times, the Miami would observe this shift and during the winter months decide to insert a thirteenth moon to bring the months back in line with the biological processes for which they were named.

Our goal is to create a lunar calendar that:

• Continues to integrate biological and ecological cycles.
• Overlay or combine the current Gregorian calendar so tribal members can still keep appointments.
• Further develop the calendar to reflect contemporary cultural events and activities.
• Reinforce our connections to the land and sky through the observation reflected in the lunar calendar.

Participants

• Daryl Baldwin: Miami University, Myaamia Center Director
• Dr. David Costa: Miami-Illinois Linguist (Language Consultant)
• Dr. Adolph Greenberg: Institute of Environmental Sciences, MU
• Dr. George Esber: Practicum Advisor for the Institute of Environmental Science
• Dr. Mark Boardman: Practicum Advisor for the Institute of Environmental Science
• Laura Wigren: Miami University Graduate Student, Environmental Science/Recycling Department (Spring 2006 to 2007)
• Craig Voros: Miami University Graduate Student, Environmental Science/Recycling Department (Spring 2006 to 2007)
• Michelle Christy: Miami University Undergraduate Student
• Dr. James Ausfahl
• Zachary Swaidner: Communications Undergraduate Student (2008 to 2012)
• Andrew J. Strack: Program Director for the Myaamia Center Technology and Publications Office (2007-2015)
• Dr. Timothy McCoy: Curator of Meteorites at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History
• George Ironstrack: Program Director for the Myaamia Center Education and Outreach Office
• Carole Katz: Language Document Transcriptionist
• Kristina Fox: Student Administrative Assistant for the Myaamia Center (2009-2013)
• Kristen Kasberg: Student Administrative Assistant for the Myaamia Center (2013-2015)
• Colleen Scheible: Student Administrative Assistant for the Myaamia Center (2016-2017)
• Gloria Tippmann: Student Administrative Assistant for the Myaamia Center (2017-2018)
• Jenna Corral: Student Administrative Assistant for the Myaamia Center (2018-2019)