By Stella Beerman, Communications Specialist

OXFORD, Ohio – Last week, Neepwaantiinki: Learning from Each Other – Part 1: Tending the Fire, the first episode of the Myaamia Center’s docuseries, earned three awards at the 47th Annual Telly Awards, the world's largest honor for video and television content across all screens. 

The collaborative project took home: Silver in the Non-Broadcast: General - Diversity, Equity, Inclusion category; Bronze in the Non-Broadcast: General - Documentary: Short Form (Under 40 minutes) category; and Silver in the Non-Broadcast: Craft - Editing category.

Neepwaantiinki: Learning from Each Other will be an eight-part docuseries that tells the history of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma while focusing on them as a contemporary, vibrant Tribal Nation. The docuseries will be shared widely with the Miami Tribe community and the broader Miami University community. It has already been featured in several on-campus courses to help students learn more about the Myaamia people.

Part 1: Tending the Fire is an introduction to the series and explores the deep, 54-year partnership between the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and Miami University. It touches on the Tribe’s history, their language and cultural revitalization efforts, and the concept of neepwaantiinki ‘learning from each other’ that has driven the relationship and evolved into a national model for tribally-led, university-supported collaboration.

Kara Strass, Van Zant Director of Miami Tribe Relations at the Myaamia Center, serves as the cultural adviser, and Rachel Sachs Valerio, Media Manager for Miami Online, is the director and producer of the series.

“This project is the result of hard work from an exceptional team and a close partnership with the Myaamia Center,” Sachs Valerio said. “It sheds light on a part of history that is often overlooked and helps combat the ongoing invisibility Native people face. I've personally learned so much throughout the production, and I'm proud to help tell this story. Our goal is to honor the Tribe's history, highlight their ongoing cultural revitalization, and celebrate their enduring bond with the university.”

The idea for the series came from Miami Online, which received an internal grant to support the production. The project was a collaborative effort, with Miami Online bringing technical skills and the Myaamia Center providing the story and knowledge represented throughout the series. Interviews with cultural leaders, Miami University administrators, Tribal leaders, and historians helped to outline the narrative, and footage of contemporary cultural practices grounds the story in the life of the community today.

“It has been an exciting project to work on,” Strass said. “Telling the story of the Myaamia people can be difficult to do. There are so many aspects of the story that need to be included — our deep history as a people, colonization and loss, revitalization of language and culture, as well as the relationship with Miami University. Miami Online helped us to create an engaging way to share this story.”

The first two episodes of the 8-part series are available to watch now. To learn more about the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and its relationship with Miami University, view the series on the Miami Tribe Relations webpage.

Production Team:

• Rachel Sachs Valerio – Director, Producer, Writer, and Videography
• Brynn DeLange – Pre-production Producer
• Tony Strader – Editor
• Kara Strass – Executive Producer
• George Ironstrack – Executive Producer
• Ben Hartman – Videography
• Phil McDaniel – Videography
• Sam Speck – Videography

Interviews: 

Miami Tribe Leadership: 

• Donya Williams, Secretary/Treasurer, Miami Tribe of Oklahoma   
• Dustin Olds, Second Chief, Miami Tribe of Oklahoma 
• Douglas Lankford, Chief, Miami Tribe of Oklahoma  

Miami University Administration: 

• Gregory Crawford, President, Miami University 

Myaamia Center: 

• Cameron Shriver, Research Associate 
• Jarrid Baldwin, Myaamia Language Coordinator  
• Daryl Baldwin, Executive Director

Myaamia Heritage Program Alumni:  

• Logan Patrick 
• Megan Sekulich 
• Stella Beerman 

Additional Photography and Media: 

• Miami University Communications and Marketing 
• Karen Baldwin, Miami Tribe of Oklahoma 
• Jonathan Fox, Myaamia Center 
• Doug Peconge, Miami Tribe of Oklahoma