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Daryl Baldwin named MacArthur Fellow

By Emily Williams, Managing Editor

How do you measure genius? Exceptional creativity, promise for future advances and the potential to stimulate others' creative work: this is how the MacArthur Foundation distinguishes the recipients of its "genius" grants -- annual awards given to individuals to help them pursue artistic, intellectual and professional visions.

This year, Daryl Baldwin, director of Miami University's Myaamia Center, has been named a 2016 MacArthur Fellow for his work in the preservation and revitalization of the Myaamia language and culture. Baldwin is one of 23 recipients, including a graphic novelist, a human rights lawyer, a long-form journalist and a synthetic chemist.

Baldwin is the first individual at Miami to receive the award, and he is the first Ohioan since 2004 to be named a MacArthur Fellow.

When the Miami Tribe was forced out of their homeland in the nineteenth century, many of the Myaamia people were scattered, which led to an accelerated decline in the use of their language and the transmission of their cultural practices.

Baldwin, who is a citizen of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, first came to Miami University in 2001 to lead the Myaamia Project, now the Myaamia Center.

The center has partnered with the National Breath of Life Archival Institute for Indigenous Languages to revitalize the language of the tribe. A portion of those efforts has included offering classes for students who are Miami Tribe citizens where they can learn the language and cultural traditions of their ancestors.

The full grant totals $625,000, paid in quarterly installments over five years, and comes with a "no strings attached policy." According to the foundation, this allows recipients the maximum freedom to realize their creative vision without financial barriers.

At the Board of Trustees meeting last Friday, Sept. 23, university president Gregory Crawford recognized the achievement and invited Baldwin to speak to the board and other attendees.

"Without my community, the support of the tribe and certainly this incredible relationship we have with Miami University, none of this would be happening," Baldwin said. "So, I would hope that all of you take this time to celebrate with me because what we have here at Miami University with the Miami Tribe is truly, truly special."

Chief of the Miami Tribe, Douglas Lankford, sent Baldwin a congratulatory message on the tribe's shared Facebook page.

"You are one of those rare individuals who came along and not only left a legacy for your immediate myaamia family, but for all myaamiaki," Lankford wrote to Baldwin. "You have influenced and enriched so many with your knowledge. I can't think of anyone or family more deserving of this award."

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