Native Speaker to Discuss University’s Miami Indian Project November 22, 2009

Daryl Baldwin, a member of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, will discuss his Native nation’s special partnership with Miami University of Ohio at 1 p.m. Sunday, November 22, at the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, 3001 Central Street, Evanston.

Baldwin is director of the Myaamia Project at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, a joint educational venture of the tribe and the university (http://www.myaamiaproject.org). Myaamia — the tribe’s name in its native language — means “the downstream people,” according to the Web site of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma (http://www.miamination.com).

Launched in 2001, the project assists the Miami in developing educational programs and materials to preserve and revitalize its language and culture. It affords research opportunities to Miami University undergraduate and graduate students, including visits to tribal headquarters in Miami, Okla., classroom visits by project staff, and access to Miami tribal language and cultural resources.

The Miami originated in the Great Lakes region, with ancestral homelands in Ohio, Indiana, southern Michigan, Illinois, and southern Wisconsin. The federal government forcibly relocated the Miami in 1846, first to Kansas and then to Oklahoma. The tribe currently has more than 3,500 enrolled members, about 800 of whom live in Oklahoma.

Admission to the talk is included with museum admission, which is $5 for adults, $2.50 for seniors, students, teachers (with valid school ID), and children. Maximum admission per family is $10. For information, phone (847) 475-1030. On the Net: http://www.mitchellmuseum.org.

Official Website: http://www.mitchellmuseum.org