Pocahontas was a nickname of sorts, often translated as “playful one.” Her actual name was Matoaka, and she was born in about 1596 to a Powhatan chief ruling over more than 30 Algonquin-speaking tribes, according to the National Park Service history of the Jamestown Colony site. The historical record is conflicted and controversial, but there are settled facts. She lost a husband, left her homeland and died abroad, all by her early 20s. Whatever the myths, her real life was a painful one. Books, reenactors and toymakers have all put their spin on Pocahontas, portraying her as a thrilling girl-power heroine at one turn, a tragic emblem of cultural appropriation at another. In 1995, Pocahontas joined the pantheon of modern Disney princesses, an animated blockbuster that has played out ever since on DVDs and in academic papers alike. “They were trying to assert a national identity, and they used her to do it.” “They were sick of hearing about the pilgrims and the Mayflower as the beginning of it all, when really it all began in Virginia,” said Helen Rountree, a professor emeritus of anthropology at Old Dominion University. After a long absence from public attention, she reappears in the discourse of antebellum Virginia, celebrated as the first ally of white settlers in the New World. Phony!”Īppearing in a presidential tweet is only the latest incarnation of a name that first showed up in colonial reports written by quill and then in 17th-century London newspapers. Now Cherokee Nation denies her, ‘DNA test is useless.’ Even they don’t want her. She took a bogus DNA test and it showed that she may be 1/1024, far less than the average American. On October 16, President Donald Trump tweeted: “Pocahontas (the bad version), sometimes referred to as Elizabeth Warren, is getting slammed. Now Cherokee Nation denies her, “DNA test is useless.” Even they don’t want her. Pocahontas (the bad version), sometimes referred to as Elizabeth Warren, is getting slammed. Wood and our current Humanities Research Center faculty as well as scholars and creators across our campuses,” he said.Trump using ‘Pocahontas’ as a slur is part of her sad, 400-year history as a pawn “This includes the scholarly and creative research such as that conducted by Dr. Rao said VCU’s new research strategic plan serves as a framework to streamline the university’s investments, will lead to increased funding and growth, and ultimately advance excellence in research at VCU. “Making knowledge visible to communities is at the heart of a research university such as VCU.” “We applaud the center for beginning a new initiative this year, through its new Native artist/writer residency program in honor of the late Monacan nation citizen and scholar, Dr. Srirama Rao, Ph.D., vice president for research and innovation at VCU, also spoke at the Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival. The program is supported by the VCU Foundation and the VCU Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation, and is seeking support for an endowment. “It aims to enhance the visibility of Virginia Indigenous cultures and communities and to be more intentional and reciprocal in promoting cultural exchanges between the university and the local Native communities.” “The Karenne Wood residency is part of a broader effort to bring institutional awareness and acknowledgment of the past, present and future of Indigenous peoples in Virginia,” said Cristina Stanciu, Ph.D., the director of the Humanities Research Center and an associate professor in the Department of English. The Humanities Research Center, part of the College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU, was a sponsor of the film festival. 20 at the Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The residency program’s launch was announced Nov. Her two books of poetry, “Markings on Earth” (2001) and “Weaving the Boundary” (2016) are taught widely throughout North America. In 2015, she was named one of the Library of Virginia’s Virginia Women in History. Wood, who died in 2019, was director of the Virginia Indian Heritage Program at Virginia Humanities, led a tribal history project for the Monacan Nation, conducted research at the National Museum of the American Indian, and served on the National Congress of American Indians’ Repatriation Commission. The program honors the legacy of Karenne Wood, Ph.D., who was a member of the Monacan Indian tribe and a poet, activist, tribal historian and educator who lectured at VCU on many occasions. It will allow an Indigenous writer or artist to spend time at VCU, connect with local tribes, give public talks and readings, and enrich VCU students’ learning experience. The Humanities Research Center at Virginia Commonwealth University is launching the Karenne Wood Native Writer/Artist Residency program.
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