‘Embracing the Native heritage’: VCU initiative honors Indigenous history, culture

Lujain Mohamed, Contributing Writer

Ghailah Nyeanchi, Contributing Writer

VCU’s Humanities Research Center started its “On Native Ground” initiative in 2021 with the aim of making Indigenous histories visible across the Americas and working with local tribes to establish a strong Native community and scholarship at VCU, according to the Humanities Research Center’s website.

This year will be the third for the “On Native Ground” initiative at VCU and will include the newly-inaugurated Land Acknowledgement working group, a guest lecture series spotlighting Indigenous scholars and the Karenne Wood Native Writer/Artist Residency program, according to HRC’s website.

The HRC established the Karenne Wood Native Writer/Artist Residency program in November 2021, according to their website. It provides an opportunity for Indigenous artists to create, spend time at VCU and connect with local tribes. 

“When we started, the first part of the initiative was to launch a Native artists residency,” said Christina Stanciu, the director of the Humanities Research Center at VCU.

She said the residency program was named after Karenne Wood, an artist and anthropologist who passed away in 2019. 

“She was a dear friend of VCU and mine so we dedicated this program to her,” Stanciu said. 

The initiative’s goal is to address some of the gaps about Indigenous issues on campus, according to Stanciu. 

“We invite local speakers, academics and Indigenous scholars from across the state to participate in the ‘On Native Ground’ initiative,” Christina Stanciu, the director of the Humanities Research Center at VCU said.

Something new the HRC is implementing is the “Empowering the Self through Indigenous Frameworks” workshop on Wednesday, Nov. 20, Stanciu said.

The workshop is hosted by Ray John Jr., an educator and teacher of the Oneida Nation of the Thames, an Indigenous reserve in Ontario, Canada, according to Stanciu. 

Stanciu said she met John when she was on a Fulbright Scholarship in London, Ontario, which is home to many Indigenous nations. Their meeting sparked the collaboration between John and the “On Native Ground” initiative.  

The workshop aims to teach attendees to be their best selves through Indigenous frameworks, according to Stanciu. 

“We are hosting this two-event series with him to learn more about ourselves,” Stanciu said. 

The HRC has co-sponsored Pocahontas Reframed, a local Indigenous film festival, for the past 10 years, according to Stanciu. 

She said the festival premieres films about Indigenous histories across North America. 

“It’s a good community engagement opportunity,” Stanciu said. “We have a lot of local community members who come from Indigenous nations.” 

The 8th annual reception of the Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival will be held at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on Nov. 23 and will feature some community and contemporary dances and socializing opportunities for attendees, according to Stanciu. 

VCU President Michael Rao is also expected to make some remarks at the reception of the film festival, Stanciu said. 

 “For us, it’s very important to have him there to witness how vibrant local Indigenous communities are and to meet some of the filmmakers at the film festival,” Stanciu said. 

Christina Davis, a VCU alum with Cherokee ancestry, interdisciplinary studies program advisor and instructor at VCU, said “On Native Ground” is a great opportunity for students to have some exposure to Native culture.

“We don’t currently have many classes here at VCU to speak to Native students in regards to history, culture and many other facets of who Native Americans are,” Davis said. “Through ‘On Native Ground,’ it allows our students to have some exposure and to learn some education from the webinars or the presentations that they have.”

The main thing Davis hopes the VCU community will take from this initiative is learning directly from Native Americans, she said. The community will be “hearing different perspectives of different Native and Indigenous folks statewide, locally and nationally.”

The VCU community will get the opportunity to learn about environmental issues, historical issues, mixed-race Native Americans and Native American law from actual Native Americans through the guest lecture series, according to Davis.  

“Bringing in those guests to talk about the different issues in the Native American community here in Virginia also gives our students access to hearing firsthand from them and not always from those who don’t identify as Indigenous,” Davis said.

Davis said she is especially appreciative of students who make the time to attend these events.

“The more student input and the more student participation that we receive,” Davis said. “It allows us to pretty much petition our supervisors or those who help sponsor and budget or fund the initiative, so we really appreciate it when the students come out.” 

One of the guest speakers Davis highlighted is Lora Chilton, a VCU graduate, member of the Patawomeck Tribe of Virginia, and author of “1666: A Novel,” one of Parade’s 26 picks for the Native American Heritage Month book list.

“‘1666: A Novel’ is the story of survival of the Patal tribe in Virginia,” Chilton said. “They originally lived along Potomac Creek, and now their headquarters are in Fredericksburg.”

Chilton’s novel follows the tribe in 1666, where the general council, which was the English governing body at the time, decided to kill all the men and sell the women and children into slavery to work the sugar fields in Barbados.

“But from that two women made it back, and partially because of that, the tribe still survives to this day,” Chilton said. “And so, while it’s a hard story, it’s also a forgotten story.”

Chilton said as she started to learn about her own Native heritage, she felt compelled to tell the women’s stories.

“I found out about my Native ancestry when I was in my forties, and it was through my father,” Chilton said. “One night when I had gone to visit my parents, and my father just very casually, as if he had never, as if it was just common knowledge, said something about his Indian grandmother.”

Chilton said that moment drove her to explore her heritage and ancestry, which eventually led her to write her book.

As a former VCU student, Chilton said she thinks “‘On Native Ground’ is a very important initiative.

“It’s very important and I’m very proud of VCU for having an initiative like this, because of, particularly, what has happened in Virginia.” Chilton said “The Racial Integrity Act wasn’t repealed until 1967, and Native voices in Virginia were really shut down, ignored and clearly tried to be erased. I’m just really proud of VCU for embracing the Native heritage in Virginia.”