Aacimohtaatiiyankwi

On August 29, the Myaamia Heritage Foundation and the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma Cultural Resources Office held the inaugural Myaamia Cultural Fest in downtown Kiihkayonki ‘Fort Wayne, Indiana.’ Free and open to the public, the Fest brought Myaamia culture, history, language, foodways, and art into the heart of the city, creating a space for Myaamiaki ‘Myaamia people’ and the wider community to learn, connect, and celebrate. Held alongside the annual Taste of the Arts Festival, the Myaamia Cultural Fest welcomed visitors throughout the day with Myaamia artists, cultural demonstrations, hands-on activities, food, and opportunities to learn more about Myaamia history and the cultural revitalization work the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma is doing today.

A Day of Celebration and Community

More than a dozen Myaamia artists and cultural practitioners participated in the Fest, offering demonstrations, hands-on activities, and opportunities for visitors to engage with Myaamia culture. Throughout the day, visitors played traditional Myaamia games like mahkisina meehkintiinki ‘moccasin game’ and seenseewinki ‘bowl game,’ learned about Myaamia foodways and history, created ribbonwork-inspired crafts and fingerwoven keychains, and tried their hand at playing with traditional lacrosse sticks. Visitors also shopped directly from Myaamia artists and the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma’s gift shop. 

“It was a good event to expose the greater Fort Wayne community to the language and culture of their oldest neighbors, the Miami people,” says Aacimwa Nate Poyfair, Miami Tribe of Oklahoma Assistant Cultural Resources Officer and Second Councilperson. “I hope we can learn more from each other in the coming months and years and continue to grow as friends and neighbors.”

Reflections

Looking back on the inaugural Myaamia Cultural Fest, one of the things that stands out most is the sense of connection it created. For a community dispersed across the country, creating spaces for Myaamia people to gather, share knowledge, and build community is especially meaningful. More than 100 Myaamia community members attended the Fest, traveling from the local Fort Wayne area, neighboring states, and as far away as California to be part of the celebration. At the same time, the Cultural Fest provided an opportunity to introduce the broader public to the Myaamia people and to share the story of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma’s continued presence in Indiana.

“It was heartwarming to see the people of Fort Wayne come out and support us by asking genuine questions and showing interest in our art forms,” said Mia Hankenson, a Myaamia artist. “The day was filled with smiles and knowledge, and the excitement I have for the future is hard to put into words.”

The event location had a really important connection to a Myaamia sense of place. The festival was held less than a mile from the historic Myaamia village located in what is now Fort Wayne’s Lakeside and Spy Run neighborhoods. Bringing Myaamia culture into a public space so close to this historic place offered a meaningful reminder that Myaamia people and culture are not simply part of Fort Wayne’s past. Myaamia people are part of this community today, and Myaamia culture is a living culture that continues to grow, be practiced, and contribute to the community.

“It was so meaningful to be able to share my work with my community and on our homelands,” said Anna Collins, a Myaamia beadwork artist. “I loved being able to show our presence in Fort Wayne and answer questions about my work.”

Most of all, the festival showed what can happen when people come together around a shared vision. We are so grateful to everyone who helped make the day such a success, from our artists, staff, volunteers, and partners to the more than 2,000 visitors who stopped by to learn, create, shop, play games, and celebrate Myaamia culture with us.

Mihši neewe ‘Thank you so much’ to the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma Cultural Resources Office and our partners at Arts United for helping make this day possible. We are incredibly grateful for everyone who helped bring this vision to life, and we look forward to continuing to bring people together to learn and celebrate Myaamia culture!

See more photos from the Myaamia Cultural Fest in Fort Wayne, Indiana:

Background

The Myaamia Cultural Fest came to fruition after the Myaamia Heritage Foundation sponsored three Myaamia artists to participate in the 2025 Taste of the Arts, an annual festival in Fort Wayne organized by Arts United, a private nonprofit organization that serves northeast Indiana through arts advocacy, fundraising, and grantmaking. This provided an opportunity to bring Myaamia artists and culture into a large public arts event in Fort Wayne while also building relationships with Arts United and the broader arts community.

Conversations began in February 2026 about returning to the festival to expand the Foundation’s presence and support more Myaamia artists. During an initial conversation with Arts United, they shared that one of the parking lots typically used for the Taste of the Arts Festival would no longer be needed and asked whether the Foundation would be interested in using the space.

This opportunity shifted the conversation from being a participant in an existing event to considering what it might look like to host a Myaamia-centered event of our own. While the Miami Tribe Cultural Resources Office has operated an extension office in Kiihkayonki for over a decade, the Tribe’s events and public programming in the area were either private and just for the Myaamia community, or were individual employees attending conferences, giving presentations, and participating in larger-scale events alongside other partners. 

While these activities provided important ways to share Myaamia culture and build relationships within the community, the Tribe had yet to host its own large-scale event specifically designed to be open to the general public. The space offered by Arts United created an opportunity to change that. What began as a chance to participate in an existing community event grew into the development of the inaugural Myaamia Cultural Fest.

Bringing the Myaamia Cultural Fest to life took months of planning, collaboration, and community support. The Myaamia Heritage Foundation held biweekly planning meetings with Miami Tribe Cultural Resources Office staff and met regularly with Arts United to coordinate the festival and its logistics. Funding from Indiana Humanities and the Indiana Arts Commission helped make the festival possible, while collaboration with Myaamia artists and Fort Wayne-based video company Oak & Story helped promote the event on social media, highlighting the artists and their work to the wider community.

“The turnout was amazing, especially seeing the growth from last year,” said Megan Sekulich, a Myaamia artist. “I had a steady stream of people at my table browsing, buying art, learning, and chatting the entire festival.”

Additional Credits:

Featured Photo by Logan Pierson, Good Morning Indian Country.