OXFORD.- The Miami University Art Museum kicks off the Miami Bicentennial with the exhibition, Myaamiaki iisi meehtohseeniwiciki How the Miami People Live on Thursday, Sept. 18, with a public opening from 4-6 p.m.

The exhibition features artifacts and objects from the Miami Tribe whose original homeland encompassed the midwestern lands and rivers now named after them. Displays date from a facsimile of a Wea Deer Hide Map, circa 1775, to contemporary art by Miami Tribal members. The exhibition celebrates the vibrant heritage of the Miami Tribe, currently undergoing a language and culture revitalization effort.

The opening on September 18th features a welcoming remarks by Miami University President, David Hodge and the unveiling of Miami elder Eugene Brown’s bronze sculpture, “A Tribe named Miami, A Surveyor’s Stake, a Town named Oxford.”

Serving as a kickoff to the university’s bicentennial celebration the exhibition is made possible through the combined efforts of: guest curators Julie Olds, Former Cultural Preservation Officer of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, and Daryl Baldwin, Director of the Myaamia Language Project at Miami University, with media consultant, Andrew Strack, Miami University IT Services and the staff at the Miami University Art Museum. For more information about the Miami Nation visit their official website: http://www.miamination.com/.