How to Contact the Cultural Resources Extension Office
Doug Peconge,
Kiihkayonki ARPA Project Manager
Email: dpeconge@miamination.com
Mission Statement
The Cultural Resources Extension Office serves Miami Tribal citizens in the ancestral homelands by promoting myaamia history, language, culture, and traditions, thereby strengthening community development and tribal sovereignty.
CREO Purpose and History
The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma recognized the need to provide cultural programming to tribal citizens within the original homelands. The Cultural Resources Extension Office (CREO) was established in 2015 by purchasing a 10-acre property on Trentmann Road in Fort Wayne. The purpose of the CREO was to provide tribal members living in the lower Great Lakes region an opportunity to reconnect with their myaamia history, language, and culture. Within six years, the property could no longer support the growing cultural needs of the local myaamiaki community. Tribal leadership moved to sell the Trentmann property and began searching to find a new home for the CREO. An amazing property fitting, the needs of the Tribe, was purchased in fall of 2021. Located northwest of Fort Wayne on Fritz Road, peehkahkionki 'beautiful place' is a 45-acre property which includes a 3.5-acre pond with 13 acres of woods.
Peehkihkionki 'The Beautiful Place'
What can I do at Peehkihkionki?
The Cultural Resources Extension Office (CREO) hosts multiple events throughout the year, there are always opportunities for Tribal citizens to visit and enjoy peehkihkionki 'the beautiful place' beyond those events. Check out the list below of some of the things you can do at Peehkihkionki.
- Disc golf
- Lacrosse
- Fishing
- Camping
- Self-guided nature walks
- Bird watching
- Photography
- Invasive species removal
- Help with the community garden
- Crafting
- Storytelling
- Stomp Dance
- Culturally focused guided nature walks
- Maple sugaring
- Cooking
- Seenseewinki ‘Bowl Game’
- Mahkisina meehkintiinki ‘Moccasin Game’
- MTOK information assistance
- Reconnecting with myaamiaki ‘Miami people’
Wildlife at Peehkihkionki
As tribal citizens walk the trails and around the pond at peehkihkionki they will notice the extensive wildlife that calls this place home. The list below is a sample of what tribal citizens will see when they visit peehkihkionki.
- Wild turkey
- Cormorant
- Woodpecker
- Cardinals
- Crows
- Kingfisher
- Flycatcher
- Mourning doves
- Red-tailed hawks
- Bats
- Monarch butterfly
- Viceroy butterfly
- Garter snakes
- Crawfish
- Snails
- Salamander
- Deer
- Opossum
- Raccoons
- Rabbits
- Herron
- Painted Turtles
- Bass
- Canada Geese
- Bluegill
- Snapping turtles
- Frogs
- Muskrats
- Water Snakes
- Grebe
- Wood Ducks
- Mallard Ducks
- White egret
Trails at Peehkihkionki
There are 2 miles of trails for tribal citizens to enjoy. These trails consist of maintained mowed paths that are generally flat and easy to walk. Trails highlight landscapes, including the 13-acre woods, open prairie areas, and a picturesque pond. The trails are open year-round, so come prepared for the weather with boots and a jacket. Sakia get hungry during the summer, so bring your mosquito spray.
Cultural Programming
The Cultural Resources Extension Office (CREO) in Kiihkayonki 'Fort Wayne, IN' supports the efforts of the eemawiciki cultural education office. The CREO works with the eemawiciki cultural education office and the Myaamia Center at Miami University to bring cultural learning opportunities to the myaamiaki living in the Lower Great Lakes region.
The CREO staff promotes cultural knowledge in the community through activities such as hikes, stomp dancing, winter storytelling, cooking, lacrosse, and workshops.