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“Drums Along the Wildcat,” a multi-tribal traditional gathering featuring exhibitions, merchandise and community services information, returns to Foster Park on Sat., Sept. 19, from 10 a.m. until nightfall. The rain-or-shine event is free and open to the public. All are welcome.

“Again this year we welcome the drums and the dancers back on ancestral homelands after the forced removal of many families here in the 1840s,” said Kokomo Mayor Tyler Moore, a citizen of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma. “It will be a special moment on Sept. 19 when the drums and the dancing start and our community gathers to celebrate together.”

Vendors open at 10 a.m., and the ceremonial event starts with the Grand Entry of flags and dancers into the dancing circle at 11 a.m. Special honor recognitions and various dancing and drumming exhibitions will take place periodically throughout the day, with Evening Grand Entry at 6 p.m.

The event also will feature vendors selling authentic tribal merchandise and food, as well as community and health organizations providing information about their services for the public.

All of Howard County, Indiana, lies in the residue of the Great Miami Reserve. In 1844, Kokomo became the county seat of the last-named county on the pre-removal communal land of the Miami tribe of Indians. Michael Moore, president of the Kokomo Early History Learning Center, Inc., said the event is designed to ensure everyone can learn more about this shared history.

“About two-and-a-half percent of Howard County residents selected Native American as identity on the most recent U.S. federal census,” said Moore, who also is a citizen of the Miami tribe. “We look forward to hearing their stories and learning more about their lives. We hope everyone can join us Sept. 19 when we celebrate the community’s Indigenous and contemporary culture on ancestral homeland.”

“Drums Along the Wildcat” is organized by the Kokomo Native Initiative, an alliance of organizations in Howard County, Indiana, including the City of Kokomo, the Howard County Historical Society, Indiana University Kokomo, and the Kokomo Early History Learning Center, Inc.

Kokomo has a unique place in Indiana history, being the last-named county seat of the last-named county on the communal land of the Miami Tribe of Indians before their removal. All of Howard County (originally named Richardville for Maawikima Jean Baptiste Richardville) lies in the residue of the Great Miami Reserve.

Although the tribal government was forcibly removed from these ancestral homelands by 1846, removal could never erase Native identity and culture. Miami tribal names remained for Indiana’s last county and its county seat at Kokomo.

Indigenous peoples have lived in Howard County, Indiana, for thousands of years. This ancestral homeland includes the Miami, the Potawatomi, and many others before, during and after the era of Indian removal began in the 1830s and ‘40s. Removal did not erase Native culture and heritage. In fact, about two-and-a-half percent of Howard County, Indiana, residents selected Native American as identity on the most recent U.S. federal census. Plus, Miami tribal names remained for Indiana’s last-named county (Richardville/Howard) and its county seat at Kokomo.