Who We Are
	
	
	2005 Newark Earthworks Moonrise Working Group
	
	
	The 2005 Newark Earthworks Moonrise Working Group is a fellowship 
of concerned citizens, community leaders, and scholars representing several 
disciplines from local universities, museums, and professional organizations.   
We have joined together to share with the world a remarkable
conjunction of heaven and earth that will take place at the 2,000-year-old 
Newark Earthworks.  On a few dates in 2005, the moon will rise in close 
alignment with the central axis of the Octagon Earthworks.
	
	
	
	Our Mission Statement
	
	
	
	The purpose of the 2005 Newark Earthworks Moonrise Working Group is
 twofold:
	
	
	1.  We will join together at the Octagon Earthworks to witness this 
 once-in-a-generation event and help make that experience accessible
 to as wide an audience as possible.
	
	
	2.  We will use this event to celebrate the achievements of the builders 
of this ancient wonder of the world.
	
	
	We, as citizens of Ohio and representatives of various groups and
 institutions with a vested interest in the Newark Earthworks, state 
that it is our responsibility and privilege to serve as organizers and
 facilitators for groups and individuals who wish to come and participate 
in the wonder.  We are committed to fostering good will and encouraging
 participation from a wide spectrum of perspectives, interests, and beliefs. 
 We are not a closed group and encourage any interested groups or 
individuals who share the goals of inclusivity and good will to be a part 
of this working group.
	
	
	The 2005 Newark Earthworks Moonrise Working Group is organized
 under the auspices of the Newark Earthworks Initiative at The Ohio State 
University, Newark Campus. You can contact us at earthworks@osu.edu
	
	or
	
	Newark Earthworks Initiative
	
	OSU-Newark 1179 University Drive
	
	Newark OH 43055 (740) 364-9584
	
	
	The Newark Earthworks Initiative
	
	The Newark Earthworks Initiative (NEI) represents the combined effort
s of many different communities and individuals to create a center.  
The Newark Earthworks Center will focus on two related topics that inform 
each other: the study of pre-contact history, including the earthworks, and 
the study of Native American histories and cultures.  The center will become 
an intellectual and communications nexus for activities relating to the 
histories of American Indians from ancient times to the present.
The Newark Earthworks Initiative promotes multidisciplinary research, 
enriched undergraduate education, teacher training and support, public 
educational programs, and outreach to a variety of communities. 
	
	In pre-colonial America, Ohio was a crossroads for American Indian people
 and cultures.  Ohio's lands figured prominently at critical junctures during 
the historical expansion of the United States of America.  The proposed 
center links two great resources: the university and the earthworks.  The
proposed Newark Earthworks Center will be the first center at The Ohio 
State University to focus on Native American histories and cultures. 
	
	
	The Centers Objectives
	
	        Promote multidisciplinary research connections
	
	        Enrich the undergraduate educational experience
	
	        Improve teaching resources about Native American Earthworks,
          histories, and cultures
	
	        Create partnerships to accomplish the center's goals throughout 
          Ohio and the Midwest