Aacimotaatiiyankwi

No, the last fluent speaker passed away in the 1960’s and the language went to sleep for 30 years until the community started revitalizing it through the documentation found in archives. Today, we have a small, but growing, population of Myaamia who use the language regularly at a beginner level with a handful who are more proficient in the language.

1. Visit mc.miamioh.edu/ilda-myaamia/dictionary/install and click the “install” button on the page.
2. Once clicked, you will see a pop-up message with instructions. These instructions will guide you through adding the app.
3. Click the “share page” button. Once clicked, several options will appear for sharing the page.
4. Select the “add to homepage” option.
That’s it! You can now find the app on the homepage of your mobile device! For step-by-step directions, visit our Dictionary Update! post.

The answer to this question has a lot of history behind it, so we recommend checking out our What does the word “Miami” mean? post for a more detailed explanation of what Miami means and why it is a common placename.

In a literal sense, Miami is related to the word Myaamia. This term was originally used by other Indigenous peoples in reference to our location being downstream on a river. Over time, we began using it to describe ourselves.

As is the case for most people today, the type of clothing worn by Myaamia people depended on available materials and the weather. You can find a more detailed description in our Myaamia (Miami Indian) Clothing Pre-Contact post.

That said, clothes were commonly made from hides and decorated with available materials. Typical articles of clothing included: leggings, breechcloth, moccasins, skirts, shirts, and large blanket robes.

The answer to this question depends on what time period you are referencing since our clothing has evolved over time like all cultural groups. More details on the topic can be found in our Myaamia (Miami Indian) Clothing Post-Contact post.

Today, Myaamia people typically wear the same clothes as any other person in the region where they live. It is also common for us to wear clothing featuring geometric designs inspired by historic ribbonwork patterns as a way of expressing our Myaamia identity.

The answer to this question depends on what time period you are referencing. More details on this topic can be found in our niikinaana – Our Homes post.

Traditionally, Myaamia people lived in wiikiaama or wigwams in English. Today, Myaamia people live in a variety of dwellings, including apartments and houses.

Many histories apply the label “sub-tribe” to groups like the Atchakangouen, Kilatika, Mengkonkia, Pepikokia, Piankeshaw, and Wea. Each of these names are, for the most part, Miami-Illinois speaking village groups. Each of these villages operated as its own largely independent community. They all shared the same language; stories; ecological patterns and behaviors (culture); and the same or very similar landscapes. Most of these village groups literally descend from each other like family. As a village grew too large to support itself, a group would split off and form a new village downstream. These related villages could come together in times of war and to negotiate the group peace required to end a conflict.

What Europeans called “Nations” and later “Tribes” and or “Confederations” were originally groupings of villages that shared common traits. These groupings could work together and achieve goals, but for the most part they lacked any firm hierarchical political structure.

This one is a bit tricky, so check out our full discussion in our FAQ: Pre-Contact Miami Indian Population? post.

If we had to estimate though, at least 10,000 to 12,000.

This concept is approached differently from a Myaamia perspective. For more information on leadership roles, read our How did Myaamia (Miami Indian) people govern themselves? (FAQ) post.

For the most part though, individual families took care of themselves. Leaders were viewed as servants of their people.

Ultimately, the punishment depended on the crime. We discuss some common consequences in our How did the Myaamia (Miami Indians) punish crime? (FAQ) post.

That said, few behaviors were considered “criminal” and disputes were typically handled by family groups.

We have never found any language relative to the mound complexes or mound building in general. It is also interesting to note that in the vast historical record there is no mention of the Myaamia having any association with the mounds other than they knew they were there and did not disturb them. There are, however, extensive mound vocabularies in other non-Algonquian languages like Muskogean languages.

This particular question has a long and short answer. For the long answer, visit our FAQ: Origins of the name Twigh Twee? post.

The short answer is we’re not sure. Most likely, it came from the Cherokee or the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois).

To really get to the bottom of this question, George Ironstrack did some historical digging. He discusses his work in our Was “Aquenackwe” Little Turtle’s Father? (FAQ) post.

The conclusion George came to was “Aquenackwe” was probably not Little Turtle’s father.