While many Miami University students in Oxford practiced their dance moves uptown this weekend, others danced to a slightly different routine - to a stomp dance, that is.

Approximately 30 members of the Miami community traveled to Oklahoma to participate in the Miami Tribe's annual stomp dance celebration, experiencing a piece of Miami's history and connecting the university its the namesake tribe.

Students and faculty members made the 10-hour bus ride to experience the tribe's culture firsthand.

"It was an amazing experience," said Tom Veed, one of 11 architecture students on the trip. "I had a preconceived notion of what an Indian reserve would be like, and (the Miami reserve) didn't look the same as in my head."

The stomp dance is an informal social gathering for the Miami Tribe, in which the dancers are called "shakers" because of the attire they wear while dancing. The stomp dance takes place around a fire, rather than a traditional drum, with the men of the tribe singing and the women dancing.

The students were even able to participate in the stomp dance themselves.

"(The stomp dance) was a lot of fun and allowed us to see their culture," Veed said. "It showed that it's a living culture."

Bobbe Burke, coordinator of the Office of Off-Campus Affairs and the coordinator Miami Tribe relations, said that the weekend was the perfect way for students to learn more about the Miami Tribe.

"This was a great opportunity for many newcomers to understand the Miami community," Burke said.

Gail DellaPiana, associate professor of architecture and interior design, brought her upper-level architecture class to Oklahoma to attend the event because she said she wants her students to gain a better understanding of the group, as her students are working toward designing a new visitor information center for the tribe in Oklahoma.

"(The students came) to see the site (for the new building)," DellaPiana said.

In addition, the class toured several different sites for potential projects.

The class is also looking to repair a bridge linking the Cherokee and Miami tribes and build a gazebo for the Miami Tribe burial ground.

According to DellaPiana, the entire community was welcome to partake in the stomp dance. The Miami Indians also performed a board dance that is reserved only for tribe members before the stomp dance.

Fortunately for those taking part in this trip, the recent inclement weather in Oklahoma that earned national attention did not play a factor, according to Burke. She said the ice and snow that bombarded the region had all but disappeared by the time the group made it to Oklahoma, as temperatures neared 50 degrees.

In addition to the annual trips to Oklahoma for the stomp dance and annual powwow, Burke said that a group of graduate students from Miami would also make the trek during spring break. The group will visit to learn about community service and the contemporary problems the tribe faces.