The name Miami comes from the Miami-Illinois word Myaamia, which means "allies."
Where do the Miamis live?
The Miami Indians had their original homeland in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. However many of them were forced to move to Oklahoma during the Indian Removals. Today, there are two Miami Indian communities: one in Indiana, and one in Oklahoma. There are about 5000 members of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma today. There are about 2500 Miami Indian people in Indiana.
What language do the Miami speak?
In the past, they spoke their native Miami-Illinois language. It has this long name because two tribes, the Illini and the Miamis, spoke the same language with different accents, just as Americans and Canadians both speak English. Unfortunately, no Miami Indian people are fluent in this language anymore. However, the Miami tribe is working hard to teach young people their familial language again.
Miami Women and men roles
Miami Indian men were hunters and sometimes went to war to protect their families. Miami women were farmers and did most of the childcare and cooking. Both genders took part in storytelling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine. Only men could be Miami Indian chiefs in the past, but women had important roles overseeing religious festivals and negotiating peace treaties. Today, a Miami woman could be chief too, and a Miami man could be a farmer too.
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