Marti L. Chaatsmith, Associate Director, Newark Earthworks Center (NEC) at The Ohio State University, is an enrolled citizen of the Comanche Nation and direct descendant of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Her work frames the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks as accomplishments of the Indigenous architects 2,000 years ago and emphasizes the achievements of Indigenous people in the Ohio Valley throughout time, since most of these places and contributions were erased following the forced removal of tribal nations in the area in the 19th century and subsequent colonial settlement.
Marti L. Chaatsmith, Associate Director, Newark Earthworks Center (NEC) at The Ohio State University, is an enrolled citizen of the Comanche Nation and direct descendant of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Her work frames the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks as accomplishments of the Indigenous architects 2,000 years ago and emphasizes the achievements of Indigenous people in the Ohio Valley throughout time, since most of these places and contributions were erased following the forced removal of tribal nations in the area in the 19th century and subsequent colonial settlement.
Member of the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board [external link]
B1004 Newark Campus West
1440 Granville Road
Newark, Ohio 43055
Mailing Address
1179 University Drive
Newark, Ohio 43055
In collaboration with the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, Marti initiated a tribal outreach program that has evolved into building sustainable relationships. Since 2007, she has advocated for the inclusion of American Indians and Indigenous perspectives in the World Heritage nomination of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks. Her projects focus on re-introducing the Earthworks to American Indians today, including tribal government leaders, cultural historians and American Indian artists, writers and activists.
Ongoing Newark Earthwork's Center's Research
Stepping Out and Stepping Up: The Land-Grant Truth and Reconciliation Project
Stepping Out of Our Comfort Zone and Stepping Up to Our Responsibilities
"Toward Truth and Reconciliation: Present-Day Indigenous Peoples in Ohio"
Ancient Indigenous Monuments and Modern Indigenous Art
Research
- "Earthworks are places of spirituality, accomplishment and power" The Newark Advocate, February 23, 2020. [external link]
- "Earthworks: Rise and Tell"
- by Marti Chaatsmith (Comanche Nation/Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Descendant) and Dr. Christine Ballengee-Morris in the Fifth Session: Through Space and Time on April 12, 2018 T at "Metaphors of Time: An Interdisciplinary Conversation Across the Arts, Humanities and Sciences," April 11-12, 2018. Paper in publication. Sponsored by The Ohio State University Office of Research, Jewish Studies at Fordham University, The Thomas and Diann Mann Distinguished Symposium Fund, The Melton Center for Jewish Studies at Ohio State, The Departments of NELC and Philosophy at The Ohio State University.
- Earthworks Rising
- “Let Us Tell the Story of Our Land and Place: Tribal Leader Interviews Concerning the Seizure and Sale of Territories Benefiting Land-Grant Universities." [external link]
- Williams, R. B., Gavazzi, S. M., Roberts, M. E., Snyder, B. W., Low, J. N., Hoy, C., Chaatsmith, M. L., and Charles, M. Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education. Volume 33, No. 4- Summer 2022.
- "Native (Re)Investments in Ohio: Evictions, Earthworks Preservation, and Tribal Stewardship."
- The Newark Earthworks: Enduring Monuments, Contested Meanings. University of Virginia Press. 2016.
- "Paying Old Debts" [external link] Williams, R.B., Gavazzi, S. M., Roberts, M.E., Chaatsmith, M.L., Hoy, C., Low., J. N., and Snyder, B. W. Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education. Vol. 33, No. 2. 2021.
- "Singing at a Center of the Indian World: The SAI and Ohio Earthworks"
- Tribal Leadership in the 21st Century and the Preservation of American Indian Heritage in Ohio, Welcoming the Tribes Back to Their Ancestral Lands Presentation, 2018.
- Presented at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity.
- Virtual World Heritage Ohio
- Newark Earthworks GIS Web Map
- Office of Digital Humanities, National Endowment for the Humanities, Ball State's Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts (IDIA Lab), Applied Anthropology Laboratories (AAL), The Works, Ohio History Connection, Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma and the Shawnee Tribe.
- "Water/Earth/Sky Journeys: Overcoming Serial Nomination Challenges with a Themed Landscape Approach"
- Jennifer Aultman, Marti Chaatsmith (Comanche Nation/Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Descendant), Elizabeth Bartley.
- "WOSU Preserving American Indian Culture." Radio Show Recording.
- September 29, 2016. All Sides with Ann Fisher with guests President Kerry Holton of the Delaware Nation, Daryl Balwin Director of the Myaamia Center at Miami University [external link], and Marti Chaatsmith (Comanche Nation/Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Descendant) Interim Director of the Newark Earthworks Center.
Awards
- 2012 Ohio State Newark Ohio Central Technical College Diversity Award
- "AIS and Newark Earthworks Center's Marti Chaatsmith Recognized with Diversity Award" American Indian Studies May 17, 2013.
Associate Director
Newark Earthworks Center
chaatsmith.1@osu.edu
Member of the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board [external link]
B1004 Newark Campus West
1440 Granville Road
Newark, Ohio 43055
Mailing Address
1179 University Drive
Newark, Ohio 43055
In collaboration with the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, Marti initiated a tribal outreach program that has evolved into building sustainable relationships. Since 2007, she has advocated for the inclusion of American Indians and Indigenous perspectives in the World Heritage nomination of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks. Her projects focus on re-introducing the Earthworks to American Indians today, including tribal government leaders, cultural historians and American Indian artists, writers and activists.
Ongoing Newark Earthwork's Center's Research
Stepping Out and Stepping Up: The Land-Grant Truth and Reconciliation Project
Stepping Out of Our Comfort Zone and Stepping Up to Our Responsibilities
"Toward Truth and Reconciliation: Present-Day Indigenous Peoples in Ohio"
Ancient Indigenous Monuments and Modern Indigenous Art
Research
- "Earthworks are places of spirituality, accomplishment and power" The Newark Advocate, February 23, 2020. [external link]
- "Earthworks: Rise and Tell"
- by Marti Chaatsmith (Comanche Nation/Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Descendant) and Dr. Christine Ballengee-Morris in the Fifth Session: Through Space and Time on April 12, 2018 T at "Metaphors of Time: An Interdisciplinary Conversation Across the Arts, Humanities and Sciences," April 11-12, 2018. Paper in publication. Sponsored by The Ohio State University Office of Research, Jewish Studies at Fordham University, The Thomas and Diann Mann Distinguished Symposium Fund, The Melton Center for Jewish Studies at Ohio State, The Departments of NELC and Philosophy at The Ohio State University.
- Earthworks Rising
- “Let Us Tell the Story of Our Land and Place: Tribal Leader Interviews Concerning the Seizure and Sale of Territories Benefiting Land-Grant Universities." [external link]
- Williams, R. B., Gavazzi, S. M., Roberts, M. E., Snyder, B. W., Low, J. N., Hoy, C., Chaatsmith, M. L., and Charles, M. Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education. Volume 33, No. 4- Summer 2022.
- "Native (Re)Investments in Ohio: Evictions, Earthworks Preservation, and Tribal Stewardship."
- The Newark Earthworks: Enduring Monuments, Contested Meanings. University of Virginia Press. 2016.
- "Paying Old Debts" [external link] Williams, R.B., Gavazzi, S. M., Roberts, M.E., Chaatsmith, M.L., Hoy, C., Low., J. N., and Snyder, B. W. Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education. Vol. 33, No. 2. 2021.
- "Singing at a Center of the Indian World: The SAI and Ohio Earthworks"
- Tribal Leadership in the 21st Century and the Preservation of American Indian Heritage in Ohio, Welcoming the Tribes Back to Their Ancestral Lands Presentation, 2018.
- Presented at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity.
- Virtual World Heritage Ohio
- Newark Earthworks GIS Web Map
- Office of Digital Humanities, National Endowment for the Humanities, Ball State's Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts (IDIA Lab), Applied Anthropology Laboratories (AAL), The Works, Ohio History Connection, Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma and the Shawnee Tribe.
- "Water/Earth/Sky Journeys: Overcoming Serial Nomination Challenges with a Themed Landscape Approach"
- Jennifer Aultman, Marti Chaatsmith (Comanche Nation/Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Descendant), Elizabeth Bartley.
- "WOSU Preserving American Indian Culture." Radio Show Recording.
- September 29, 2016. All Sides with Ann Fisher with guests President Kerry Holton of the Delaware Nation, Daryl Balwin Director of the Myaamia Center at Miami University [external link], and Marti Chaatsmith (Comanche Nation/Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Descendant) Interim Director of the Newark Earthworks Center.
Awards
- 2012 Ohio State Newark Ohio Central Technical College Diversity Award
- "AIS and Newark Earthworks Center's Marti Chaatsmith Recognized with Diversity Award" American Indian Studies May 17, 2013.
