Mary Baldwin University will host Karenne Wood, an enrolled citizen of the Monacan Nation and the director of Virginia Indian Programs at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, on March 23.
Woods earned an MFA in poetry from George Mason University, as well as a PhD in anthropology from the University of Virginia. In her poems, she often explores themes surrounding identity, cultural practice, and language within portraits of Virginia Indians.
While at Baldwin, Wood will be visiting Associate of Anthropology Abby Wightman’s Indigenous Peoples class.
“As a non-Native person teaching a class about indigenous communities, I try very hard to include the voices and perspectives of indigenous people in my course,” Wightman said. “Wood’s guest visit allows my students to have an opportunity to learn from her experiences as a Monocan woman and her scholarship as a linguistic anthropologist.”
The lecture, titled “Prisoners of History: Pocahontas and the Roles of Native Women,” is particularly significant this year, the 400th anniversary of Pocahontas’ death.
“This event is a very important part of our Women’s History Month celebration because it provides an opportunity to learn about Native women’s lives,” Wightman explained.
The event will be held at 6:30 p.m. in Miller Chapel, and is free and open to the public.