Programs at The Miami Valley Council for Native Americans

THE MIAMI VALLEY COUNCIL
FOR NATIVE AMERICANS

"Our Elders Speak" Program

Background: The Miami Valley Council for Native Americans is located in Dayton, OH. Ohio has a statistically small American Indian population, partially due to the fact there are no Indian reservations within the State. Many of our Council members and friends have come to Ohio seeking work. They have settled here, raised their families here, and continue to earn their living in this state today. However, as a result of relocation or other circumstance, they have lost that essential link to their tribe and their culture. Over the years, the Council has received many requests from these families for programs which will help them reconnect with their tribal identity, particularly for the sake of their children. Thus, the naming of our organization is The Miami Valley Council FOR Native Americans.

Furthermore, in response to these requests, the Council initiated a program in 1995 called Our

Elders Speak. Central to this program are the Elders, the valued KEEPERS' OF THE KNOWLEDGE, many of whom have come to Ohio to share with our members and friends the

stories of their personal lives and backgrounds, as well as, the tribal culture which

each Elder represents.

In addition to the Elders, many other knowledgeable and tribally connected American Indian people have participated in this program by sharing their personal stories,
talents, and experiences with us. Their participation has been in the form of Council Fires, which are held in the evening in the open air.

A concerted effort is made to find speakers from different tribes across the nation so
that our programs present a cross-section of American Indian culture, which the American Indian people and their descendants in this state represent. Our programs have been very popular with our members and friends, and have been well received.

The following table is a partial list of participants in Our Elders Speak programs and Council Fires which the MVCNA has sponsored.

Speaker/Participant	Subject	Tribal Affiliation

Kenny Irwin	American Indian Prisoners' Rights	Arikara Dakota
Pernell Necklace	Significance of and Respect for Eagle Feathers	Dakota
George Martin	Alcoholism & Its Treatment on the Reservation	Eastern Band Cherokee
Helen Ramirez	Boarding Schools & Affects on Indian Children	Shawnee
Delores Santha	Indian Student opportunities for Higher Learning	Iroquois
Dennis Banks	Founding of the American Indian Movement-AIM	Anishnabe
Gail Ross	Personal Family History and Storytelling	Western Cherokee
Dale Weasel	Drum Blessing Ceremony	Lakota
Fernando Cellicion	Indian Flute - Songs	Zuni
Kevin Locke	Spirituality/Hoop Dancing	Lakota
John Running Deer	Native American Prophecy	Shinnecock
Marvin Redeye	Our Daily Lives	Onondaga-Seneca

Education Program

November is Native American Heritage Month!

Press Release

Return of Indian Remains for Reburial

December 1998 - Guy W. Jones, as Executive Director

Late in October, some ladies walked into the Mother Earth Connection, a store in
the Oregon District in Dayton, and dropped off a bag containing human and animal remains which has been found by workers who were cleaning out a garage on
Wayne Avenue. The store proprietor reported to the Police that the bones had
been left at the shop. The human remains were later determined by a forensic anthropologist from Cincinnati to be American Indian bones, those of a two-year
old female child, a 45 year old male, and another adult. The anthropologist felt the remains had probably been removed from an American Indian burial site, and
dated the remains at 400-500 years old.

It had been proposed that a local museum be given the bones. However, the

Miami Valley Council for Native Americans contacted the Montgomery County

Coroner's office and relayed to them by phone the request that these remains be

turned over to the Indian community for proper reburial. Local television stations helped, in that they aired interviews which informed the public about the matter

from the Indian perspective.

According to the Coroner's office, they received many phone calls from the

community in support of this position, and they made the decision to transfer

the remains to the Council for reburial. Representatives of the MVCNA and the

Ohio Center for Native American Affairs (OCNAA) met with personnel of the Coroner's office on Thursday, November 12th, at 11:00am to receive the remains. The reburial ceremony will be held within the month. Thanks to all who made the phone calls

which helped the Coroner's office in its determination to do the right and respectful

thing in this matter.

In the State of Ohio, in particular, the degree to destruction and desecration of

Indian burial sites has accelerated during the past 30 years due to the value

associated with Indian artifacts and to the construction related to urban sprawl.

The Miami Valley Council is working to change the wording of present legislation

in the hope of slowing and/or preventing these incidents from happening in the

future.

Inter-Tribal Arts Experience

Next program to be announced.

Reset: 9/11/03