¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ

The Myaamia Project was created in 2001. The Project transitioned to the Myaamia Center in 2013. Learn more about the Myaamia Center.

It is very common for the Chief of the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe and other elected leaders and guests to visit the University each year. They have participated in several special University events:

• ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe Chiefs have been invited speakers at four ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ presidential inaugurations, in 1993, 1997, 2006, and 2016.
• The ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe Chief spoke at ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ's 2009 Bicentennial Celebration.
• The leaders of the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe were on campus for the opening day of the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Art Museum exhibit about the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe, September 2008.
• The leaders of the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe were invited to campus for the visit of the Dalai Lama and also attended a very small reception for the Dalai Lama where they presented him with a handmade gift from the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe.
• Leaders have visited classes, presented public programs about ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe history and culture, and assisted in bringing other guests to campus for programs.
• The leadership of the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe have attended every Myaamiaki Conference since the conference first began in 2004.

• A representative from ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ has attended every January Winter Gathering and Stomp Dance since they began in January, 1996.
• Representatives from the Division of Student Affairs have attended every Annual Gathering and Pow Wow since they began in 2000.
• Presidents Shriver, Risser, Garland, Hodge, and Crawford have all visited the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe in ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ, Oklahoma.
• Provosts, Academic Deans, and Department Chairs have been part of groups that have attended various cultural events sponsored by the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe.

The number varies, but during the 2021-2022 academic year, the largest cohort to date, 38 Myaamia students attended ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ. See Myaamia Students for details.

Since students first enrolled in 1991, 106 Myaamia students have earned 103 degrees (95 undergraduate and eight graduate degrees). Four students earned both an undergraduate and graduate degree at ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ.

The four-year graduation rate for students who have gone through the Myaamia Heritage Award Program is 92%.

The Myaamia Center has created an online  that serves as a resource for learning the Myaamia language.

The Myaamia language does not use capitalization when written alone, but when Myaamia words are used within the context of English, Myaamia follows the same capitalization rules as English.

No. Both ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ and the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe of Oklahoma retain their existing symbols. The Myaamia Heritage Logo is a graphic element designed collaboratively to symbolize the relationship between the Tribe and University. Learn more about the Myaamia Heritage Logo and what its components mean.

A national controversy has  over the use of Native American mascots by athletic teams professionally and in academic settings. Increasingly considered derogatory and offensive, the mascot controversy found strong momentum in the late 1960s, following the birth of the  and efforts to address Native stereotypes by the National Council of American Indians.

Reactions to the mascot issue in academic settings followed two predominant courses of action:

• Some schools completely eliminated Native references, names, and mascots.
• Other schools sought a compromise in an effort to appease competing views among their constituents, alumni, and fans.

Regardless of which route teams or academic institutions have taken, they have faced enormous difficulty grappling with the decisions. Finding consensus among all constituents has been rare. ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ is no exception. As with many societal controversies, perspectives on best practices change over time.

¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ began using the Redskins mascot in the 1930s. By August, 1972, when Forest Olds, Chief of the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe, unexpectedly visited the University for the first time, discussion about the appropriateness of the Native mascot use had already begun. 

In 1972, Chief Olds stated he had no objection to non-derogatory use of the term Redskins, but that he did not "see where Redskins pertains to ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒs only, to me it covers all Tribes." After his visit to campus, University administrators wrote a resolution endorsing use of Redskins and sent it to Chief Olds and the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe. After substantial discussion, the Tribe passed the resolution.

In subsequent decades, the Tribe and the University cultivated a close relationship, even as the national controversy around Native mascot issues continued to draw attention and ignite discussion about the topic on ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ’s campus. By the mid-1990s, public perspective on the use of the Native mascots had changed significantly, including among members of the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe.

Yes. In July, 1996, the general membership of the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe of Oklahoma passed a resolution asking the University to stop using the Redskins mascot.

In September 1996, the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Board of Trustees voted to discontinue the use of Redskins out of respect for the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe. Members of the University community also began working to determine a new mascot.

After soliciting 3,000+ name suggestions from students, faculty, staff, and alumni, the University's Athletic Nickname Selection Committee, chaired by President Emeritus Phillip R. Shriver, set about selecting a new mascot for ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ. The Committee sought a name that could be related to ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ’s heritage, the association with the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe of Oklahoma and one that would not be offensive to Tribe members or other persons.

They studied several final options for linguistic analysis, legal difficulties with other trademarked items, marketing advantages, and public relations risks. President Garland eventually recommended RedHawks to the Board of Trustees, who unanimously adopted RedHawks on April 18, 1997.

The name "RedHawk" was favored because the name is derived from the red-tailed hawk, a real animal that is indigenous to both Ohio and Oklahoma and that shares the school colors (red tail, white breast). As a predator with a reputation for being fierce, strong, and soaring, the hawk conveys the kind of competitive spirit appropriate for athletics.

Learn more about the , ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe Relations, and the Myaamia Center. Opportunities typically include class visits and/or class assignments, participating in a variety of campus programs, and attending the biennial Myaamiaki Conference, a day-long on campus conference that presents research topics about the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe. Limited opportunities exist to visit ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ, Oklahoma for ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe cultural events.

Check out the information about the relationship in the Armstrong Student Center's Shade Family Room and the Smucker Wiikiaami Room and other locations around the Oxford campus. For information about ways to engage with the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ tribe, contact Kara Strass, Director of ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe Relations.

• Diversity education is enhanced by exposing current students to information about one of the 574 American Indian Tribes that are federally recognized in the United States. Several faculty members have created class assignments to meet needs identified by the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe.
• Anthropology was the first class to offer a field study summer experience in ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ, Oklahoma for students. Other Oklahoma field studies have been in Linguistics, Archeology, Journalism, Geography, Environmental Science, Mass Communication, and Business.
• Journalism students assisted in the first printed newspaper of the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe in June 1998.
• Five different Architecture Cultural Design Studios created projects for the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe, including the conceptual design of the Armstrong Student Center Wiikiaami Room.
• Computer Science classes have created online interactive projects and database systems for the Myaamia Center.
• Nursing students offered two Winter Term classes (2014 and 2015) that included a one week stay in Oklahoma doing service projects for the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe.
• Several special student Spring Break trips have occurred in ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ, Oklahoma.
• Since 1991, more than 170 Myaamia students have taken advantage of college educational opportunities at ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ through the Myaamia Heritage Award Program.
• The Myaamia Center was created as a campus space where concentrated work occurs that enhances the language and cultural revitalization of the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Tribe.

Myaamia (): ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ

Aya (): Hello

Aya niihka (): Hello Friend

Tipeewe neeyolaani (): It is good to see you.

Neewe (): Thank you

Iihia (): Yes

Moohci (): No

Wiikiaami (): Home

Neeyolaani kati (): See you later

Nipwaahkaalo (): Be well, take care

Neepwaantiinki (): Learning from each other

Niila myaamia (): I am ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ