Honoring History Through Partnership
Honoring History Through Partnership
Cherokee Copper x Hamilton County Parks & Recreation x Miami Tribe of Oklahoma
At Cherokee Copper, our work has always lived at the intersection of family, culture, and responsibility. This recent collaboration with Hamilton County Parks and Recreation, Executive Director Chris Stice, and the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma is one of those moments that reminds us exactly why we do this work.
This project was not about creating a product for sale. It was about honoring history, acknowledging responsibility, and using our family’s craft to mark a meaningful act of repatriation under NAGPRA — the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
Land, Responsibility, and Relationship
Chris Stice, Executive Director of Hamilton County Parks and Recreation — and Greg’s brother — oversees lands in Indiana that were once the homelands of the Myamma (Miami) Tribe. For years, Chris has been deeply involved in the careful, necessary work of repatriating cultural objects and ancestral remains back to the Miami Tribe, as required under NAGPRA.
Repatriation is not a transaction. It is a process rooted in respect, accountability, and relationship-building. This collaboration grew naturally from those shared values.
Designing a Gorget with Purpose
To commemorate this moment, Chris and Greg worked together to design a custom copper gorget — a piece created not as decoration, but as a marker of history and responsibility.
The gorget was gifted jointly by Cherokee Copper and Hamilton County Parks and Recreation to the Chief of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma. The piece will reside permanently in the museum, serving as a visible acknowledgment of the repatriation work and the ongoing relationship between institutions and tribal nations.
Every line etched into the copper was intentional. The design reflects the history of the Miami and Cherokee tribes.
Honoring the People Behind the Work
In addition to the museum gorget, custom medallions were created for key individuals involved in the repatriation process. These medallions were designed as personal acknowledgments — tangible expressions of gratitude for the care, persistence, and integrity required to do this work the right way.
This was never about recognition for recognition’s sake. It was about honoring effort, trust, and follow-through.
Why This Matters to Us
At Cherokee Copper, we are a family of Cherokee artists working from our home studio in Oklahoma. Our responsibility to culture is not theoretical — it’s personal.
Projects like this one sit outside of commerce. They don’t live in a product collection or a sales report. They live in relationships, in museums, and in moments where Indigenous nations are respected as sovereign partners.
We are deeply grateful to:
- Hamilton County Parks and Recreation for their commitment to ethical stewardship
- Chris Stice for his leadership and care in this process
- The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma for allowing us to be part of this moment
This collaboration reflects what is possible when institutions and Native communities work together with honesty, humility, and intention.
Carrying the Work Forward
Our family believes that craft can hold memory. Copper can carry story. And when done thoughtfully, art can serve as a bridge between past and present.
We are honored that this gorget and these medallions will stand as part of that story — not as artifacts of the past, but as symbols of responsibility carried forward.
From our family to yours, wado.
What to read next-
Crafting Connection: How Artist Greg Stice Brings Cherokee Tradition To Life
What you need to know about cultural appropriation
The History of Cherokee Gorgets