4/10/03 Research Log

This topic submitted by Sarah Arnason, Katie Zeitler, Jocelyn Ellis, Ryan Lazowski (zeitleki@muohio.edu) on 4/10/03. Additions were last made on Thursday, April 10, 2003. Section: Garrison/Green

Our group is pleased to report that progress on our project has continued to be made.

Jocie has concentrated the majority of her research on the natural systems aspects of the Four Mile Creek study, looking at various internet sites and books to gain an understanding of the health of the stream and its surrounding habitat, which ties into our recent field trip to Four Mile Creek.

Sarah has been continuing library-based research, more centered on the cultural and social aspects of Native American life in the area. She has telephoned Joe Leonard, the son of Miami tribe Chief Joe Leonard; although she has not yet received a telephone call back, she is eagerly awaiting one. Additionally, Sarah has initiated a dialouge with the librarian of the Havighurst Special Collections section of King Library, who has been helpful in directing us to potentially useful resources for our project.

Katie has been taking photographs at each of the test sites, of the streams and their surrounding areas, and will get her film developed soon. Also, with the assistance of the very helpful librarians at the Lane Public Library, Katie was able to have copies made of a series of photographs from the late 19th century, of Four Mile Creek (then called Tallawanda Creek/River) and the surrounding area. These photos will be helpful in an analysis of the changes in the creek over time.

Ryan has also been quite busy: today he visited Professor Adolph Greenberg to discuss the religious significance of rivers for some Native Americans. He said that while white populations espouse a culture of industry and consumption, Native Americans instead tend to have Earth-based religions. Professor Greenberg then directed me to speak with Darryl Baldwin, a member of the Miami tribe, who is the head of the Miami Language Preservation Project. The conversation we had touched upon almost every aspect of our project.

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