Myaamia Students

The Myaamia Heritage Award Program is designed to be a full (four-year) undergraduate college experience for enrolled citizens of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma who meet all entrance requirements for admission to Miami University and enroll as Oxford campus students.

The Myaamia Heritage Award Program includes the Heritage Award (a waiver of instructional fees available for up to eight semesters) and educational support from the Heritage Program Coordinator and Myaamia Center staff.

Students in the Myaamia Heritage Award Program are required to maintain the following:

• Enrollment in at least 12 credit hours
• A cumulative grade point average of 2.3 after the end of the freshman year
• A cumulative grade point average of 2.5 at the end of every other year

Potential Myaamia applicants must apply to the University in the same manner as any other prospective Miami University student, including meeting the standard admission requirements. Contact the Director of Miami Tribe Relations, Kara Strass, to learn more about this award program.

Students in the Myaamia Heritage Award Program are required to participate in and successfully complete eight semesters of one-credit courses called Heritage classes. 

These classes focus on themes about the Miami Tribe:

• Ecological perspectives and history
• Language and culture
• Contemporary tribal issues
• The senior year is a two-semester senior project

These classes ensure that the Myaamia students who attend Miami University have an opportunity to expand their knowledge of tribal history, language, and culture. The goal is for the Heritage classes to spark a deep interest and investment in the Miami Tribe that results in the student's commitment to remain a lifelong, active participant in the Tribal community.

The Heritage class meets weekly, providing an opportunity for Myaamia students to maintain their connection with one another. Although the total membership of the Miami Tribe community is small (around 7,000 people) and dispersed throughout the United States, Heritage classes allow Myaamia students to learn about the ways in which they are related to each other and develop a small Tribal community on campus.

Myaamia students enroll at the University from states all across the country. Although the Tribe's headquarters are in Miami, Oklahoma, only a handful of students come from hometowns in Oklahoma.

The highest numbers of students come from hometowns in Indiana and Ohio, but Myaamia students have come to Miami from more than 25 different states.

The Myaamia Heritage Program is the only opportunity for Myaamia students to formally engage with their Myaamia Language and Culture while earning a college degree. Myaamia students who participated in the Myaamia Heritage Program have a 92% graduation rate.

Our alumni tell us that their experience in the Myaamia Heritage Program has had a positive impact on their view of their Myaamia identity and has made them more engaged citizens of their Tribal Nation.  Today, Myaamia graduates of Miami University are instructors in Tribal Education programs, sit on many University and Tribal Boards, and are cultural practitioners. All of this is helping to push forward Myaamia Eemamwiciki, the Miami Awakening.