08/30/2026
Let's make a wiikiami!
The Miami County Historical Museum Introduces a cultural project honoring the Native American tribes that left their footsteps on our shared soil.
In consultation with the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, our museum is using community involvement to build a replica of the traditional home of native people of the woodlands.
A series of future posts will follow this journey.
This first post presents the background according to a Miami Tribe historian:
"At first, the Miamis came out of the water:
With these words, the oldest remembered Myaamia story begins. Where the St. Joseph River meets Lake Michigan near present-day South Bend, Indiana, the Myaamia people grasped their way up the riverbank.
There at saakiiweeyonki (the Confluence), the Myaamia arrived at their homelands. They built villages along the waapaahšiki siipiiwi (‘Wabash River’ Valley) from kiihkayonki (Fort Wayne, Indiana) to waayaahtanonki (Lafayette, Indiana) as the population grew. From this way of life, the Myaamia take their name, “the Downstream People.
The traditional myaamia home:
The Myaamia term wiikiaami traditionally referred to a dome-shaped structure, typically covered in cattail reed mats or bark, that served as a home for families. Inside the home,
stories and knowledge were shared with younger generations. "
More to follow in future days...
Source
Miami Nation
Miami University, Ohio
stories.miamioh.edu
