College of Arts and Sciences

Karenne Wood

Karenne Wood, a member of the Monacan Indian tribe on whose ancestral land UVA stands, was a lifelong advocate for Virginia Indians and other Native American communities. She directed Virginia Indian Programs at Virginia Humanities and was the first Monacan Indian to complete a doctoral degree at UVA, earning a Ph.D. in anthropology in 2016 and teaching several classes in that department. She was also an accomplished poet, publishing two poetry collections, “Markings on Earth” and “Weaving the Boundary.”

Wood served on the Virginia Humanities staff since 2007 and on its board before that. In 2009, Virginia Humanities received the Federation of State Humanities Councils’ highest honor – the Schwartz Prize – for her work on the Virginia Indian Programs, including printed guides for tourist sites, speaking engagements and many other projects. She advised on entries in Encyclopedia Virginia, worked with Hantman on highway signs and memorials educating passersby, and produced the Virginia Indian Archive, an online trove of documents, images and audiovisual resources documenting Virginia Indian communities dating to colonial times.

In 2015, Wood was honored by the Library of Virginia as part of its Virginia Women in History series, recognizing outstanding women working across the commonwealth. She also took her work across the country, meeting with other indigenous groups and advocating for, among other things, the return of sacred objects and human remains held by universities and museums.

“She made sure we were always thinking about how we engage with Virginia Indian communities and how we make sure that the histories we are telling are all of our histories,” Gibson said. “She brought voices that have long been suppressed into that narrative. That was her passion and mission, and she conveyed that to all of us to carry on.”

At UVA, Wood’s scholarship focused on the history and culture of Virginia Indians, including a thesis project tracing the history and evolution of language among the Monacan people. She worked with faculty members and colleagues across the University to grow efforts studying and sharing indigenous cultures, and to recognize the Monacan lands the university was built on.

In large part thanks to Wood’s efforts, many major university events, including events like UVA President Jim Ryan’s inauguration last fall, begin with an acknowledge of the Monacan nation. At UVA’s bicentennial celebration in October 2017, Wood herself opened the ceremonies with a Monacan blessing.

Wood also worked with UVA institutions like the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, the only museum outside of Australia dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. She partnered with museum for speaker series, poetry readings, panel discussions, Virginia Film Festival events showcasing indigenous filmmakers and many other programs. Less formally, Kluge-Ruhe Director Margo Smith said Wood would often meet or get coffee with Aboriginal artists visiting the museum.

“It was really significant for our visitors to be able to connect with a member of the Monacan nation at UVA, and Karenne really helped to make them feel welcome in our country,” said Smith, who loves to give visiting artists collections of Wood’s poetry. “She was an amazing resource and such a great connector among Virginia Indians.”

Wood also worked with UVA institutions like the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, the only museum outside of Australia dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.

She partnered with museum for speaker series, poetry readings, panel discussions, Virginia Film Festival events showcasing indigenous filmmakers and many other programs. Less formally, Kluge-Ruhe Director Margo Smith said Wood would often meet or get coffee with Aboriginal artists visiting the museum.

“It was really significant for our visitors to be able to connect with a member of the Monacan nation at UVA, and Karenne really helped to make them feel welcome in our country,” said Smith, who loves to give visiting artists collections of Wood’s poetry. “She was an amazing resource and such a great connector among Virginia Indians.”

Karenne wrote two poetry collections, Markings on Earth (2001) and Weaving the Boundary (2016). Her work has been included in the native writing anthologies Sister Nations, New Poets of Native Nations, Sing, Willow’s Whisper, Ghost Fishing, and The People Who Stayed as well as in former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith’s podcast, The Slowdown. In 2015, she was recognized as one of the notable “Virginia Women in History” as awarded by the Library of Virginia.

Sources:

https://news.virginia.edu/content/memoriam-karenne-wood-lifelong-advocate-virginia-indians

https://virginiahumanities.org/2019/07/remembering-karenne-wood/