A group of Miami University students, staff and faculty are in Miami, Okla. — headquarters of the Miami Tribe — this weekend to cap off a year-long commemoration of the two Miamis’ partnership, referred to as neepwaantiinki, the Myaamia word meaning “learning from each other.”
*Editor’s Note: Myaamia is pronounced me-AHM-ee-uh. The town of Miami in Oklahoma is pronounced my-AM-uh.
The Miami Tribe hosts its annual Winter Gathering each January.
“For a community like ours that lives in diaspora — we have about 7,000 tribal citizens who live across the entire United States — we need these opportunities to get together as a community in order to maintain and push forward our cultural identity,” explains Kara Strass, director of tribe relations with the Myaamia Center at Miami University.
Key events include gourd dancing, a stomp dance and…
