Eewansaapita: Meehtohseeniwinki Ašiihkionki – A Myaamia (Miami Indian) Youth Program: “Living on the Land”

Myaamiaataweenki (the Miami language) ceased being spoken in the 1970s and was subsequently reclaimed from dormancy in the 1990s.  In 2005, the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma created the Eewansaapita Summer Youth Educational Experience to teach tribal language and culture to Myaamia youth ages 10-16. A powerful example of the interwoven connections between language revitalization and the revitalization of ecological knowledge came in the 2013 program, which was titled: “Meehtohseeniwinki Ašiihkionki” (Living on the Land). This program focused on teaching the Myaamia lunar calendar system in connection with ecological processes that the calendar was historically used to track. This paper will summarize the process of revitalizing ecological knowledge from the linguistic records and transforming these materials into youth educational programming.