Miami Tribe of Oklahoma - History

History

The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma is Eastern Woodlands tribe, who traditionally spoke the Miami-Illinois language, a language of the Algonquin family, but few tribal members speak the language today. There have been recent and ongoing attempts at a revival of their 'sleeping' tongue, which is particularly well-documented in early sources (including a complete Illinois-French dictionary) The name 'Miami' derives from the tribe's autonym (name for themselves) in their Algonquian language, Myaamia (plural Myaamiaki); it appears to have come from an older term meaning 'downstream people’. Some scholars contended the Miami called themselves the Twightwee (also spelled Twatwa), supposedly an onomatopoeic reference to their sacred bird, the Sandhill crane. However, recent studies have shown that Twightwee derives from the Delaware language exonym name for the Miamis, tuwéhtuwe, a name of unknown etymology. Some Miamis have stated that this was only a name used by other tribes for the Miamis, and not the autonym which the Miamis used for themselves. Another common term was Mihtohseeniaki, "the people." The Miami continue to employ this autonym today.

Miami society was divided into clans, led by hereditary chiefs. They settled in village of long houses. They were farmers and were known for a unique type of white corn. Traditionally, they played double ball, the moccasin game, and darts.

Like all Oklahoma tribes, the Miami endured their communal lands being broken up by the Dawes Act and their tribal government destroyed by the Curtis Act of 1898. They persevered and organized their own tribe, independent of the Peoria under the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act, ratified their constitution on August 16, 1939.