Aacimotaatiiyankwi

Written by: Jordan Poyfair, Claudia Hedeen, and Madalyn Richardson

Wiiyaakiteeheelo Weehki-Kihkatwe ‘Happy New Year!’ to all our myaamia relatives. 

On February 15th, Myaamiaki ‘Miami people’ gathered at the Council House in Noošonke Siipionki ‘Miami, Oklahoma’ to celebrate Weehki-Kihkatwe ‘the New Year’ in an event hosted by the Cultural Resources Office (CRO). Over 65 Myaamia community members gathered to enjoy pizza and a salad bar, play games to earn tickets, live performances, including a rock band and magician to entertain us, and ticket-free entertainment, including gloLED mini golf, Skee-Ball, and a virtual reality roller coaster that people of all ages enjoyed. Balloons were crafted and twisted into any creature or thing someone could imagine, and the face painting was a hit with everyone in attendance. 

Participants could play Myaamia games, including seenseewinki, ‘the plum stone/bowl game,’ and mahkisina meehkintiinki, ‘the moccasin game.’ They were encouraged to use Myaamiaataweenki ‘the Myaamia language,’ to win carnival-style tickets that could be exchanged for prizes from the prize table and the newly introduced claw machine. The scavenger hunt bingo game, introduced last year, returned, creating engagement among community members, fostering a deeper understanding of Myaamia culture, encouraging participation in games, and providing a way for everyone to earn more tickets and receive even larger prizes. Also returning from last year’s celebration was the Myaamia Kiilhsooki ‘Miami Moons,’ matching game, where players must name each month in the myaamia lunar year and organize them correctly. 

Myaamia calendars follow the lunar cycle, during which ecologically named months or kiilhsooki ‘moons’ connect the people with the land and the changing environment around them. For example, when kiišiinkwia ‘ironweed’ blooms during Kiišiinkwia Kiilhswa ‘Green Corn Moon,’ it is known that corn will be ready to eat off the cob. The new lunar year began on January 30th this year and can be followed by anyone using the Myaamia Kiilhswaakani ‘Myaamia Lunar Calendar’ sent to each household annually. A PDF version of the calendar can also be accessed online here.

On February 22nd, in Kiihkayonki ‘Fort Wayne, Indiana,’ the Cultural Resources Extension Office (CREO) hosted a storytelling event as part of our celebration of the Myaamia Lunar New Year. More than 80 Myaamia community members gathered at Classic Cafe in Fort Wayne to enjoy dinner, crafts, and our traditional stories told by staff from the CREO and Myaamia Center. We look forward to hearing new life breathed into our favorites as the number of storytellers grows each year.  

Our New Year celebration is one of the few opportunities for Myaamiaki ‘Myaamia people’ in the Kiihkayonki area to enjoy our storytelling in person, making the event one of the best-attended of the year. One reason for the rarity of live storytelling is the time and effort required to prepare. Taking great care to share stories as found in written records, aspiring storytellers can spend months learning and preparing a single story before sharing it with the community. Some of our storytellers participated in an independent study course at Miami University, which included understanding and speaking Myaamiaataweenki, ‘the Miami language.’ Students were guided in pronunciation, meaning of words, and word order. More than half the stories this year were given in Myaamiaataweenki and English. They practiced weekly and shared feedback to develop their presentations more fully. 

After enjoying over an hour of stories, the community continued to mingle and chat. Some visited the activity stations for nut cracking, coloring pages, and ribbonwork-inspired bookmarks. Gardeners of all ages could pot seeds and gain some plant wisdom with Food Program Director, Dani Tippmann. Game enthusiasts could continue engaging in mahkisina meehkintiinki, ‘moccasin game’ or try their skill at seenseewinki ‘bowl game.’ Lucky winners went home with a gift card and indigenous designer socks.

Since its inception, the CREO has rented space to host these larger events, especially in the cold weather months. We will continue collaborating with our longtime partners at the Classic Cafe event center, but this may be the last time a rented room is needed. The extension office looks forward to holding future celebrations in a new community building on the Peehkahkionki property. Completing this new space will create more possibilities for gathering as Myaamiaki, growing enthusiasm for a happy new year!

Mihši neewe ‘big thanks’ to all the staff and Myaamia community members that made these events a success! We hope to see you all next year! Upcoming events are posted in the MYAAMIAKI Facebook group.