Aacimotaatiiyankwi

Madison Bastress is a Ph.D. candidate in history at New York University, studying at the Myaamia Center as a visiting scholar this semester. 

Madison studies late-seventeenth and eighteenth-century histories of the Ohio River Valley, with a focus on place-specific ecological relations and changes over time. 

Myaamia language, culture, and history are one portion of the Ohio River Valley’s story and Madison hopes to build lasting and intentional relationships with the Myaamia Center and Miami Tribe as she tells its story. 

“I am figuring out ways to write history that is culturally informed and useful to the community,” Madison said. “As part of a place-based approach, my research contributes to the ongoing project to revitalize Myaamia ecological knowledge by researching eighteenth-century Myaamia ecological practices.” 

Madison’s advisor, Liz Ellis, is a citizen of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma and a member of the Reclaiming Stories research team, a project led by the Miami and Peoria Tribes, that aims to support the revitalization of hide art by studying minohsayaki ‘painted hides.’ Madison began engaging with the Miami Tribe when she had an opportunity to collaborate on this project. 

While she works on her dissertation research this semester, Madison will continue to collaborate with Myaamia Center and Miami Tribe staff on Reclaiming Stories, as well as aacimwahkionkonci: Stories from the Land, which aims to help us understand and tell the history of the complex legal patchwork that has come to define Myaamionki ‘the land of the Miamis.’

After her time at the Myaamia Center, she will be traveling to archives, primarily in the U.S. and Canada, to continue her dissertation research, which she plans to share with the Reclaiming Stories research team and the Miami Tribe to show how this collaboration has informed her research. 

“My dissertation would not be possible without the Myaamia Center and the knowledge and research tools created through language revitalization,” Madison said. “I am grateful to continue to learn from and collaborate with Myaamia Center staff, affiliates, and Aanchtaakia graduate fellows.” 

If you have any questions or would like to reach out to Madison about her research, she has shared her email here: mjb920@nyu.edu