2018 Myaamiaki Conference

Presentations and Schedule

9:15 am | Introductions and Opening Song

Presented by: George Ironstrack and Jarrid Baldwin

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9:30 am | Welcome

Presented by: Daryl Baldwin, Director, Myaamia Center at Miami University

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9:45 am | Before the myaamiaki: Using Beads Made from Meteorites to Learn about the Mound Builders

Presented by: Timothy McCoy, Ph.D., Curator-in-Charge of the National Meteorite Collection, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

Abstract

Our place (myaamionki) is dotted with earthen mounds. These were constructed from approximately 1000 BCE to 1400 CE by people including the Adena, Hopewell, and Ft. Ancient cultures. Our knowledge of these people is incomplete, including what language or languages they spoke or what they called themselves. They did, however, leave a rich archaeological record in their earthen mounds. These include both burial mounds and well-known effigy mounds, such as Serpent Mound in southern Ohio. Excavation of these mounds in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries yielded a rich record of ceremonial objects, many constructed from materials found across North America. Among the most common exotic objects are shells from the Gulf of Mexico, the mineral mica from the Appalachian Mountains, the pipestone catlinite from Minnesota, the natural glass obsidian from what is today Yellowstone, and copper and silver from upper Michigan into Canada. Together, these items testify to vast trade networks with raw materials moving across much of Eastern North America for a period of two thousand years.

Even among these objects, the most extraordinary raw material used by the mound builders was iron meteorites -- pieces of the cores of ancient asteroids liberated by violent collisions. While iron metal is common today, it was unknown 2,000 years ago in North America. Excavations of Hopewell mounds in Chillicothe, Ohio and Havana, Illinois yielded beads made from iron meteorites. With colleagues at the Smithsonian, Univ. of Maryland, and UCLA, we studied the beads from Havana, Illinois to understand how they were made and to identify the meteorite used in their manufacture. The structure and composition of the beads match the Anoka, Minnesota iron meteorite, which fell as multiple pieces across the Mississippi River near Minneapolis-St. Paul, an area occupied 2000 years ago by the Trempeleau Hopewell. Using a piece of the Anoka, Minnesota iron, we produced a replica of the Havana, Illinois bead using only wood-fueled fire and stones, with repeated cycles of heating and flattening, followed by rolling into the bead shape. A piece of the Anoka, Minnesota iron was likely found by the Trempeleau Hopewell and traded to the Havana Hopewell, which are connected via the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. The beads were manufactured by the Havana Hopewell, who had an extensive history of copper working. The complex system of trade, coupled with the manufacture of this exotic meteorite bead, supports the idea that sophisticated societies have occupied our lands for thousands of years.

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10:15 am | The Western Rim of Fort Ancient Settlement and the Pre-Contact Origins of the Myaamia People

Presented by: Stephen Warren, Ph.D., University of Iowa

Abstract

The Myaamia people face many hurdles when it comes to the protection of their ancestors and associated funerary remains in central and northern Indiana. Through examination of recent issues at Strawtown “Koteewi” Park in Noblesville, Indiana, I will examine how state and local governments have abused and ignored the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Weaknesses in the NAGPRA law stem in part from the use of data from the Indian Claims Commission (1946-1978). ICC researchers focused on the treaty-making era (1789-1871), and showed little concern for the more than ten thousand years of human occupation of the lower Great Lakes region. This toxic combination of dated research, ignorance of tribal sovereignty, and the general lack of recent archaeological research on late pre-contact era sites in the region has enabled institutions with human remains and associated funerary objects to label their holdings as “culturally identifiable,” thereby enabling them to maintain control of their collections. This paper explores the current state of archaeological research along the western rim of the Fort Ancient world, in central and northern Indiana. My research outlines how the Myaamia people might overcome these institutional and research-related roadblocks in order to defend their ancestors from exploitation and abuse.

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10:45 am | Break

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11:00 am | Symbolic Language in the Early Historic Miami-Illinois Dictionaries

Presented by: Michael McCafferty, Indiana University

Abstract

The three French Jesuit dictionaries of the Miami-Illinois language that the staff of the Myaamia Center has been working on comprise an infinitely rich language resource. While translating the French in these dictionaries to English for the Center, I have always had my ear bent to the symbolic or figurative language that appears in them. As I move through the dictionaries, I think about these expressions and the people who used them and how they thought about themselves and the world. I will talk about some of these expressions in my presentation.

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11:30 am | Understanding Indiana Reserves

Presented by: Cameron Shriver, Ph.D., Myaamia Center; Doug Peconge, Community Programing Manager and the Assistant Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Miami Tribe of Oklahoma

Abstract

Over the course of five treaties between the Miami Nation and the United States, 1818-1840, Myaamia individuals reserved over one hundred parcels of land in Indiana. These individual reserves formed the basis for Myaamia land ownership through the nineteenth century. This presentation will illustrate these reserves, briefly describe the process of both acquiring and relinquishing them, and give examples of how reserves became fractured over time. We will also propose how future Geographic Information Systems (GIS) work might benefit our historical understanding and allow us to ask new questions.

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12:00 pm | Visit Presenter Tables

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12:30-1:45 pm | Lunch (On Your Own)

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2:00 pm | Decolonizing Linguistic Science Through Native American Participation

Presented by: Wesley Leonard, Ph.D., University of California, Riverside

Abstract

There is a long history of research on Native American languages in the field of Linguistics, with a recent trend being increased consideration of language maintenance and reclamation needs within the communities these languages come from. However, much of the current research in Linguistics still focuses on Native languages as objects of study that are defined, understood, analyzed, and promoted through Western science’s categories and objectives. This in turn, recasts these Native languages as non-Native objects, and can actually work against the Native community language goals that such linguistic research is claimed to support. For example, linguistic analysis often isolates, fragments, and dissects language in ways that can be alienating to Native American community members for whom language is not an object that exists separately from culture or peoplehood. A decontextualized focus on grammar can entirely miss important social issues, particularly regarding the trauma that Native people have experienced and are addressing when they learn and speak languages that colonization attempted to erase.

In this talk, I ask what outcomes emerge when one instead engages in linguistic science with Native American community needs and ways of knowing as the starting point -- thus the basis from which to create, implement, and disseminate language work. Referencing insights from a January 2018 workshop on decolonizing the field of Linguistics by broadening Native American participation, and focusing in particular on myaamia contributions to this movement, I illustrate how Native people have been changing linguistic science and address the broader implications of these efforts.

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2:30 pm | wiikiaaminki neepwaanki: Learning in the Home

Presented by: Kristina Fox, Myaamia Center; Jessie Seddelmeyer, Miami University Tribal alumna

Abstract

As the Myaamia language and cultural revitalization effort continues to change and grow, Myaamia people are finding interesting new ways to bring the learning and deepening of connections into their homes. Jessie Seddelmeyer and Kristina Fox will share their experiences as both teachers of Myaamia language and culture as well as parents of Myaamia youth. They will also discuss programs and initiatives that are currently being developed to further learning for all ages and experience levels.

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3:00 pm | Myaamia Student Experience at Miami University, A Student Panel

Presented by: Haley Strass, Iowa State University; Kara Strass, Miami University; Miami University Students

Abstract

Myaamia students decide to attend Miami University as part of the Myaamia Heritage Award Program for a variety of reasons. They bring with them different experiences, backgrounds, and come from across the country. Despite their differences, these students share in a common program that aims to teach them about Myaamia history, language, and culture. Through assessment of the program, we have found that these students not only gain new knowledge, but also grow in their understanding of their Myaamia identity.

Similar to all of the students who attend Miami University, Kara and Haley each took a unique path in getting to Miami. Together, they will talk about the history and content of the Miami Heritage Award Program, their own experiences, and then will moderate a panel of current Myaamia students who are attending Miami University. The Myaamia students will get to tell you what led them to Miami, and what their experience in the program has been like.

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3:45 pm | Closing Comments

Presented by: Daryl Baldwin, Director, Myaamia Center, Miami University

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4:00 pm | Visit Presenter Tables