By Emily Williams, News Editor
Late Friday night, a dozen Shawnee Tribe members arrived in Oxford after traveling over 600 miles from Miami, Oklahoma to lead students, faculty, Miami tribe members and other community members at Miami University in a traditional Stomp Dance.
The event, held on Saturday, April 2 in the Armstrong Pavilion, was a collaboration between Late Night Miami, Miami Tribe Relations, the Myaamia Center, the Office of Residence Life (ORL) and the Center for American and World Cultures.
The Stomp Dance was planned in conjunction with the seventh biennial Myaamiaki Conference, an educational event that celebrates the namesake of the university, the Miami Tribe, their current activity and projects and their relationship with the university. This year's theme was eempaapiikinamankwi kineepwaayoneminaani, "We pick up the threads of our knowledge."
The conference, which ran from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the John Dolibois Room in the Shriver Center, featured presentations on everything from the launch of the Myaamia Online Dictionary to the recovering of traditional tribe names and naming processes to the implementation of Montessori teaching methods in Myaamia educational programs.
Among the conference attendees was Doug Lankford, the Chief of the Miami tribe, and Dustin Olds, the Second Chief, who also made the journey from Oklahoma to Ohio for the weekend. Many Myaamia families who live in Indiana were also able to attend. Ben Barnes, the Second Chief of the Shawnee Tribe, and Roy Baldridge, a Shawnee Business Council Member, also attended with the Stomp Dance performers.
Coordinator of Miami Tribe Relations for the university, Bobbe Burke, compared the conference to a large family reunion. She was especially excited to see many of the Myaamia alumni return to campus, some of whom were among the presenters at the conference.
"That's what's really fun for me to see," Burke said. "We've had a really good track record of having people who are so engaged with the tribe here that they are able to give back in uniquely different ways."
Over 180 Miami community members swiped their IDs at the Late Night Miami check-in table, and more than 250 people participated in the Stomp Dance that night.
Available at the entrance of the event was a card with various challenges and questions such as, "Participate in the Stomp Dance," "Talk with a member of the Miami tribe" and "Where is the Miami Tribe officially headquartered today?" Each activity or question corresponded with an amount of points participants could use to win prizes such as imprinted mugs, plastic tumblers and "I am Miami" flags in the Myaamia language.
"We wanted it to be a means to encourage students to actively participate and learn some things about the Miami Tribe," said Rob Abowitz, Associate Director of the Office of Residence Life.
The chairs in the room formed a circle around the dance space where two groups of Shawnee tribe members alternated leading the stomp. Each dance proceeded in the same way - a male "caller" led the dance followed by a female "shaker." The women set the rhythm of the dance by stomping and shaking the shells worn around their ankles. Traditionally, the shakers were made from turtle shells but are typically now made from cans filled with small stones. The dancers, alternating male and female, continued to form a spiral as more people joined the dance.
Although many of the Miami Tribe members did not hesitate to join in the first dances, some of the other attendees held back at first, watching the dance from the perimeter. However, as the night went on, even those who were hesitant joined in a dance.
In addition to the stomp, participants could also try their hand at traditional Myaamia ribbonwork, play a game of Moccasin or browse through beadwork and paintings made by Myaamia artists.
Junior Jennifer Tassaro said that, with little prior knowledge of the tribe, she hadn't known what to expect leading up to the event. Having the card of questions and activities helped motivate her to interact with tribe members and participate in the hands-on activities.
"I think it made students more aware of the tribe our school is named after," Tassaro said. "Events like this increase awareness of different cultures and I think it's important we have that knowledge."
Miami has only hosted a Stomp Dance twice - once in 1998 and once in 2000 - and both events were held outdoors. The funding from Late Night Miami, the available space in the Armstrong Student Center and the support from ORL and the event's other sponsors were essential to making this event possible, Burke said.
Both representatives from the Myaamia Center and ORL have expressed interest in hosting more Stomp Dances in conjunction with future Myaamiaki conferences.
Senior Ian Young, a Miami tribe student, said the event went better than he could have anticipated.
"The people who came seemed genuinely interested," Young said. "They were in the right place to enjoy it for what it is."