Humble Gumption: Cam Shriver on Myaamia Survival and History

Humble Gumption: Cam Shriver’s Insight on Myaamia Survival and History
By: Dave Berry, Chautauqua Wawasee

On a brisk September morning, about 40 people attended Cam Shriver’s presentation on the survival of the Myaamia people hosted by Chautauqua Wawasee.
Cam is a Senior Research Associate in the Myaamia Center at Miami University (Ohio).
His research focuses on Indigenous history with a particular emphasis on the Myaamia experience of the last four centuries. Cam’s discussion began by establishing the year 1846 as the reference point. 1846 is the year that 350 tribal members were removed from Indiana to Kansas. Part of the discussion focused on the various tactics used successfully by the U.S. government to coerce members of the Myaamia nation into ceding most of their land in Indiana to the United States before and after 1846.

The discussion quickly moved to a series of participant questions about Myaamia farming practices; Miami University’s help in the Miami Tribe’s efforts to re-awaken the dormant Myaamia language; and stories of tribal leaders Peepakicia (Papakeechie), Waawiyaasita (Wawasee) and their descendants.

Given the history of non-Native people pursuing their research detached from living Native Americans, some Myaamia officials have adopted the phrase: “Nothing about us, without us.” In this spirit, Cam summarized his approach to community-engaged scholarship as “humble gumption.” As a non-Myaamia person, he is humble enough to understand that Myaamia leaders have their own priorities, that the nation has limited resources, and that he is only one of many well-meaning people who request Myaamia perspectives. Yet, he still has the gumption to develop long-term relationships that enable him to collaborate and ally with the project of the Myaamia cultural renaissance.

Next year, Chautauqua Wawasee will host Logan York, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, at the WACF Ruddell Pavilion on September 6, 2025.
Cam suggests perusing the Myaamia community blog, Aacimotaatiiyankwi, as a good starting point for learning more about Myaamia history, culture, ecological perspectives, and events: https://aacimotaatiiyankwi.org/