This form is to be used to submit documents and photos into the Miami Nation of Indiana digital archive. These files may be used to support the Miami Nation of Indiana case for federal recognition.
We appreciate your help in preparing this case. We don't need any and all photos/documents.
Here's the kind of photos we need:
- Photographs with at least 5 members of the Miami Nation in it, and you can name 4 out of the 5.
- Photographs at major events - tribal events, public events, community meetings of all sorts, even if they are not meetings organized by the Miami Nation.
- Big photos that show everyone who was at an event, such as at reunion, parade, meeting, pageant.
- Pictures that provide insight into important moments in Miami history, community, or governance.
Here's the kind of written documents we need:
MNI members working together:
Letters, emails, journals, documents, reports, pictures, meeting minutes, financial summaries, or sign-in sheets that show Miami people working together with other Miami people. This includes, but is not limited to fundraisers, food distribution, helping members who need it (housing, lawn care, clothing, protection, legal support, etc.), property clean-up or maintenance, cultural or language events, historic preservation, reunion. This includes economic or business activity between members of the Miami Nation of Indiana that the tribal council is not necessarily involved with. This may also include ritual activity or ceremony among Miami people, such as funerals, weddings, naming ceremonies, and other group gatherings that involve effort or contribution from several Miami people.
MNI members giving feedback and having opinions:
Letters, emails, journals, phone logs, notes, or interviews where Miami people are expressing their opinions (positive or negative - both are helpful!) about Miami leadership, decision-making, actions, event or property management, elections, programs, or communications. Documents that show conflict among members with leadership, or among council members are welcome and useful. Disagreements are a normal part of community dynamics.
MNI relations with other federally recognized tribes, including Oklahoma:
Letters, emails, newspaper or magazine stories, meeting minutes, pictures, or reports of members of the Miami Nation of Indiana communicating with, visiting with, or cooperating with members of other federally recognized tribes, including but not limited to the Miami Nation of Oklahoma, previously Miami Tribe of Oklahoma.
MNI experiences from before 1980:
Letters, journals, records, newspaper stories, or any other documents that show the social, cultural, or politics of Miami families before 1980, especially what forces Miami people were facing in Indiana from 1940-1980, such as communications about creation of the Mississinewa Dam, families forced to move during that time period, housing issues or discrimination, work issues or discrimination Miami people faced, moving of Miami cemeteries, theft from Miami cemeteries and graves.
Meeting Notes, Minutes, and Sign-in sheets:
Any meeting of Miami people or meetings where Miami were present as a representative of the Miami Nation of Indiana. Though all meetings pertaining to Miami activity in the homelands is welcome, meeting minutes and notes from 1940-1985 are especially useful, including whole notebooks of meeting notes which some families have.
If possible, please upload each set of documents (a 3 page letter, or a 20 page notebook) as a separate PDF. If needed a jpeg or png photograph works.
Please communicate with your family members to locate what your family can offer to this effort. Some families have large collections of Miami papers at home. Please consider working within your family to get help to upload the documents, reach out to elders to find out what they have and know, reach out to young folks to get help taking photographs and possibly scanning documents. It may take quite a bit of time and effort. The federal recognition case can't move forward without the help of all Miami of Indiana!
