land acknowledgment
I acknowledge that the land I live & work on was tended and cared for by generations of Indigenous peoples.
Cincinnati, Ohio is the ancestral homeland of many tribes and cultures: the Osage, the Myammiaki (Miami), the Shawnee/Shawanwaki, and the Kaskaskia, as well as being home to the Hopewell culture and Adena culture.
The Osage are a Dhegiha Siouan-speaking tribe that originated around 700 bc in the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys. In their Dhegihan Siouan language, they refer to themselves as Wazhazhe, or “Mid-waters.” In the 19th century, the Osage tribe was removed to Oklahoma, where the majority of their descendants still live. After oil was discovered on the Osage land in the early 20th century, they suffered manipulation and murder at the hands of those who wanted to take over their wealth. After 11 years of legal struggle with the U.S. government, the Osage finally secured the management of their oil funds in 2011. You can download apps or register for virtual classes to learn Osage through the Osage Nation Culture website.
The Myammiaki or Miami were a number of tribes who spoke Algonquian languages, including the Atchakangouen (“Crane”) Band; the Kilatika (“Eel River”) Band; the Mengakonkia (“Little Turtle”) people; the Pepikokia, later known as the Tippecanoe Band; the Plankeshaw (“those who separate”); and the Wea (“People of the Whirlpool”). These tribes inhabited Indiana, southwest Michigan, and western Ohio. Many contemporary Miami people call themselves Mihtohseeniaki, or “The People.” From 1720-1763, The People were particularly localized in the Miami River Valley in Ohio, where I live and work.
The Shawnee tribe maintains strong ties to their ancestral land in the Ohio River Valley region, a land “dotted with Shawnee settlements, sacred sites, and burial grounds”. These bonds have remained despite colonization, warfare, and diseases inflicted on them by French, Spanish, British, and American invaders. They are often referred to as the Greatest Travelers in America, having spread throughout the territory of more than 20 modern states. In 1831, the Ohio Shawnee ceded their lands to the U.S. and were removed to Kansas. Today the Shawnee peoples are comprised of three tribes: the Shawnee Tribe, the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, and the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma.
Part of the Illiniwek Confederation, the Kaskaskia settled along the Great Lakes and into a large part of the midwestern part of the continent. In 1803, the Kaskaskia ceded the remainder of their territory in exchange for “the means of improvement in the arts of civilized life and a more certain and effectual support for their women and children” under the “care” of the United States government. Their annuity was also increased to $1000. In 1854, the Kaskaskia, along with the Peoria, Piankasha, and Wea Tribes, united into a single tribe known as the Peoria. 2000-3000 years ago, their ancestors “created the great mound civilizations in the central United States.” Close to my home and workplace is the Serpent Mount, the world’s largest surviving effigy mound.
“Hopewell culture” includes a broad range of tribal cultures, given the moniker “Hopewell” after a family who owned property where a mound group was found in the 1890s. They are particularly known for creating geometric earthwork mounds throughout Ohio and other present-day states. The ancestral name of these cultures is unknown, as is the language(s) they may have spoken. A simple Google search will expose you to the beautiful works of art and stunning mounds that remain.
The Adena culture was a pre-contact community of Indigenous peoples living throughout Kentucky, Pennsylvania, the Scioto River and Hocking Valleys of Ohio, and West Virginia. As with the Hopewell, we don’t know what this community may have called themselves or how they defined themselves. Around 1 a.d. the Adena began expanding and became the peoples we now refer to as the Hopewell.
I recognize that this cursory knowledge of the caretakers of the land I live and work on is in no way an endpoint but a way to begin a deeper engagement with the history and cultures of these peoples. I commit to supporting the movement for Land Back to this continent’s sacred protectors and finding ways to practically and intentionally become involved in that movement.