Elizabeth Woody
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Woody is a Navajo
-Warm Springs
-Wasco
-Yakama
artist, author, and educator.
in 1959. She is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
in Oregon. She is born for Tódích'íinii (Bitter Water clan). Her mother's mother belongs to the Milee-thlama (People of the Hot Springs) and Wyampum peoples (People of the Echo of Water Upon Rocks). Her maternal grandfather's people were the middle Columbia River Chinook peoples. After studying at the Institute of American Indian Arts
in Santa Fe, New Mexico
from 1980 to 1983, she earned a bachelor's degree in Humanities with an emphasis in English from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington
.
Elizabeth has worked in various programs teaching workshops, mentoring, as a consultant and lectures throughout the country. She has worked with the Telluride Native Writer's Forum, reading, panels, and workshops for Northwest Wordcraft Circle, Neah Bay, WA and Newport, OR; Southwest Native American High School Students, Telluride, CO; Young Writer's Conference and Performance, readings, illustration, poetry and short story workshops for Northwest Native American high school writers at Paschal Sherman Indian School, Omak, Washington; Grey Hills Academy Diné Fine Arts and Drama Festival, Tuba City, Arizona; and Flight of the Mind Writing Workshops for Women, McKenzie Bridge, OR, to name a few.
As an artist, Ms. Woody has exhibited regionally and nationally. Recently she participated in the Pacific Rim Gathering that culminated in a touring exhibition in Hité'emlkiliiksix, "Within the Circle of the Rim: Nations Gathering on Common Ground". She has shown in "Submuloc Wohs/Columbus Show" and "For the Seventh Generation: Native American Artists Counter the Quincentenary", Columbus, New York
. Both exhibitions toured. In Oregon, Woody served on the Northwest Native American Arts Services Task Force, sponsored by the Eastern Oregon Regional Arts Council and was one of the founding members of the Northwest Native American Writers Association. She was selected to be an apprentice in the Oregon Folk Arts Master-Apprenticeship, to learn traditional basket weaving from Margaret Jim-Pennah. Woody has also served as a juror for their program for two years, and has served on multi-disciplinary art fellowship jury panels for several arts organizations in the Pacific Northwest.
Elizabeth Woody is presently on the Board of Directors of Soapstone, a Women Writer's Retreat, Willamette University Advisory Council for Native Programs located in Salem, Oregon, and as secretary on the founding board of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation endowed by the Ford Foundation. She also served on the inaugural Advisory Board for Lewis and Clark College Graduate School of Education and Counseling conference, "Indigenous Ways of Knowing", and as a leadership circle advisor for the Ford Foundation's feasibility study on a national Native American arts and culture fund. From 2005–present Woody was approved by resolution to serve on the steering committee for the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians proposed Northwest Tribes Indian Policy Center. She also advises the Evergreen State College Native Arts Council who recently held a Native American Arts Fair at the Washington State History Museum
.
At this time, Elizabeth is taking a break from a full-time student schedule in the Master of Public Administration Program (emphasis in two separate areas combined, Environmental Policy, and Natural Resources Management) at the Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University
. She formerly worked as'Director of the Indigenous Leadership Program at the non-profit environmental organization, Ecotrust of Portland, Oregon
for the Ecotrust Indigenous Leadership Award. After twelve years of service, and seven years of developing the program, Elizabeth moved to the "National Science Foundation's Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction located at Oregon Health and Science University. She is the K-12 Program Coordinator.
in 1990 for her book Hand into Stone from the Before Columbus Foundation. This book has been republished, including new prose and poetry, as Seven Hands Seven Hearts. In 1993 Elizabeth received a Medicine Pathways for the Future Fellowship/Kellogg Fellowship from the American Indian Ambassadors Program of the Americans for Indian Opportunity. She is a recipient of the William Stafford Memorial Award for Poetry from the Pacific Northwest Bookseller's Association and was a finalist in the Oregon Book Award
s in poetry in 1995. She held a Brandywine Visiting Artist Fellowship in 1986, and in 1997 she was awarded a J.T. Stewart Award and Fellowship by Hedgebrook
, a retreat for women writers on Whidby Island, Washington. In May 1997, she participated in a residency sponsored by Intersection for the Arts in San Francisco, California.
Navajo people
The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...
-Warm Springs
Warm Springs (tribe)
The Warm Springs tribes are several Sahaptin Native American tribes of northern Oregon. They were also known as the Walla Walla . The Warm Springs tribes are the Upper Deschutes , the Lower Deschutes , the Tenino, and the John Day...
-Wasco
Wasco-Wishram
Wasco-Wishram are two closely related Chinook Indian tribes from the Columbia River in Oregon. Today the tribes are part of the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon and Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation in Washington.-History:...
-Yakama
Yakama
The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, or simply Yakama Nation , is a Native American group with nearly 10,000 enrolled members, living in Washington. Their reservation, along the Yakima River, covers an area of approximately 1.2 million acres...
artist, author, and educator.
Background
Elizabeth Woody was born in Ganado, ArizonaGanado, Arizona
Ganado is a census-designated place in Apache County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,505 at the 2000 census.Ganado is part of the Navajo Nation...
in 1959. She is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs is a federally recognized confederation of Native American Tribes who currently live on and govern the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in the U.S...
in Oregon. She is born for Tódích'íinii (Bitter Water clan). Her mother's mother belongs to the Milee-thlama (People of the Hot Springs) and Wyampum peoples (People of the Echo of Water Upon Rocks). Her maternal grandfather's people were the middle Columbia River Chinook peoples. After studying at the Institute of American Indian Arts
Institute of American Indian Arts
The Institute of American Indian Arts is a college focused on Native American art. It is situated in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is congressionally chartered, and was created by an executive order of former American President John F. Kennedy in 1962...
in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
from 1980 to 1983, she earned a bachelor's degree in Humanities with an emphasis in English from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
.
Career
From 1994-1996, Elizabeth was a professor of creative writing at the IAIA. In 1992, Elizabeth was an invited writer at the Returning the Gift Festival of Native Writers and a featured poet at the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival. Her poetry has been praised by James Welch and chosen by him for inclusion in the Spring 1994 issue of Ploughshares, which he edited. She is a board member of Soapstone, Inc., an organization dedicated to providing a writing retreat for women. This organization is rebuilding and improving the retreat facilities for women to write in safety and solitude near the Oregon coast. Applications are available for residencies at their website.Elizabeth has worked in various programs teaching workshops, mentoring, as a consultant and lectures throughout the country. She has worked with the Telluride Native Writer's Forum, reading, panels, and workshops for Northwest Wordcraft Circle, Neah Bay, WA and Newport, OR; Southwest Native American High School Students, Telluride, CO; Young Writer's Conference and Performance, readings, illustration, poetry and short story workshops for Northwest Native American high school writers at Paschal Sherman Indian School, Omak, Washington; Grey Hills Academy Diné Fine Arts and Drama Festival, Tuba City, Arizona; and Flight of the Mind Writing Workshops for Women, McKenzie Bridge, OR, to name a few.
As an artist, Ms. Woody has exhibited regionally and nationally. Recently she participated in the Pacific Rim Gathering that culminated in a touring exhibition in Hité'emlkiliiksix, "Within the Circle of the Rim: Nations Gathering on Common Ground". She has shown in "Submuloc Wohs/Columbus Show" and "For the Seventh Generation: Native American Artists Counter the Quincentenary", Columbus, New York
Columbus, New York
Columbus is a town in Chenango County, New York, United States. The population was 931 at the 2000 census. The town of Columbus is in the northeast corner of the county and is northeast of Norwich.- History :...
. Both exhibitions toured. In Oregon, Woody served on the Northwest Native American Arts Services Task Force, sponsored by the Eastern Oregon Regional Arts Council and was one of the founding members of the Northwest Native American Writers Association. She was selected to be an apprentice in the Oregon Folk Arts Master-Apprenticeship, to learn traditional basket weaving from Margaret Jim-Pennah. Woody has also served as a juror for their program for two years, and has served on multi-disciplinary art fellowship jury panels for several arts organizations in the Pacific Northwest.
Elizabeth Woody is presently on the Board of Directors of Soapstone, a Women Writer's Retreat, Willamette University Advisory Council for Native Programs located in Salem, Oregon, and as secretary on the founding board of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation endowed by the Ford Foundation. She also served on the inaugural Advisory Board for Lewis and Clark College Graduate School of Education and Counseling conference, "Indigenous Ways of Knowing", and as a leadership circle advisor for the Ford Foundation's feasibility study on a national Native American arts and culture fund. From 2005–present Woody was approved by resolution to serve on the steering committee for the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians proposed Northwest Tribes Indian Policy Center. She also advises the Evergreen State College Native Arts Council who recently held a Native American Arts Fair at the Washington State History Museum
Washington State History Museum
The Washington State History Museum is located in downtown Tacoma, Washington. It is owned and operated by the Washington State Historical Society under the official approval of the Washington State Legislature....
.
At this time, Elizabeth is taking a break from a full-time student schedule in the Master of Public Administration Program (emphasis in two separate areas combined, Environmental Policy, and Natural Resources Management) at the Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University
Portland State University
Portland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...
. She formerly worked as'Director of the Indigenous Leadership Program at the non-profit environmental organization, Ecotrust of Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
for the Ecotrust Indigenous Leadership Award. After twelve years of service, and seven years of developing the program, Elizabeth moved to the "National Science Foundation's Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction located at Oregon Health and Science University. She is the K-12 Program Coordinator.
Awards
Elizabeth received an American Book AwardAmerican Book Award
The American Book Award was established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation. It seeks to recognize outstanding literary achievement by contemporary American authors, without restriction to race, sex, ethnic background, or genre...
in 1990 for her book Hand into Stone from the Before Columbus Foundation. This book has been republished, including new prose and poetry, as Seven Hands Seven Hearts. In 1993 Elizabeth received a Medicine Pathways for the Future Fellowship/Kellogg Fellowship from the American Indian Ambassadors Program of the Americans for Indian Opportunity. She is a recipient of the William Stafford Memorial Award for Poetry from the Pacific Northwest Bookseller's Association and was a finalist in the Oregon Book Award
Oregon Book Award
The Oregon Book Awards are presented annually by Literary Arts, Inc. for "the finest accomplishments by Oregon writers who work in genres of poetry, fiction, literary nonfiction, drama and young readers literature." -History:...
s in poetry in 1995. She held a Brandywine Visiting Artist Fellowship in 1986, and in 1997 she was awarded a J.T. Stewart Award and Fellowship by Hedgebrook
Hedgebrook
Hedgebrook is a rural retreat for women writers on Whidbey Island, Washington, founded in 1988. Hedgebrook's artist in residency program accepts 40 writers each year, who spend 2 to 6 weeks in residence working on their diverse writing projects. Each writer stays in her own hand-crafted cottage....
, a retreat for women writers on Whidby Island, Washington. In May 1997, she participated in a residency sponsored by Intersection for the Arts in San Francisco, California.
Poetry
- Luminaries of the Humble, (Sun Tracks, Vol 30), University of Arizona Press.
- Review by Judy Elsley in Weber Studies
- Seven Hands Seven Hearts, Eighth Mountain Press.
- Hand into Stone: Poems, Contact II Publications.
- Reviewed by Joy HarjoJoy HarjoJoy Harjo is a Native American poet, musician, and author of ancestry. Known primarily as a poet, Harjo has also taught at the college level, played alto saxophone with a band called Poetic Justice, edited literary journals, and written screenplays. She is a member of the Muscogee Nation and...
in Calyx, 12, no. 3 (1990): 95-97 - Reviewed in Mid-American Review, XI, 1, Fall 1990.
- Reviewed by Joy Harjo
- Old Shirts & New Skins Elizabeth illustrated this book of Sherman AlexieSherman AlexieSherman Joseph Alexie, Jr. is a writer, poet, filmmaker, and occasional comedian. Much of his writing draws on his experiences as a Native American. Two of Alexie's best known works are The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven , a book of short stories and Smoke Signals, a film...
poems.
Anthologies
- Renewing Salmon Nation's Food Traditions, Gary Paul Nabhan (Editor), Ecotrust, Portland, OR. 2006.
- River of Memory: The Everlasting Columbia, William D. Layman (editor), Washington Univ. Pr.
- A Song to the Creator: Traditional Arts of Native American Women of the Plateau, Lillian A. Ackerman (Editor), Univ. Oklahoma Press.
- Oregon Salmon: Essay on the State of the Fish at the Turn of the Millennium. Essay, Oregon Trout, Portland, OR, 2001
- Salmon Nation, Edward C. Wolf and Seth Zuckerman, Ecotrust. Portland, OR. 1999.
- When the Rain Sings: Poems by Young Native Americans, Lee Francis (Editor), Simon & Schuster.
- Dreaming the Dawn: Conversations With Native Artists and Activists, E. K. Caldwell, University of Nebraska Press.
- First Fish, First People: Salmon Tales of the North Pacific, Judith Roche and Meg McHutchison (Editors), University of Washington Press.
- Speaking for the Generations: Native Writers on Writing (Sun Tracks Books), University of Arizona Press.
- Intimate Nature: The Bond Between Women and Animals, Linda Hogan, Deena Metzger, Brenda Peterson (Editors), Ballantine & Random House
- Earth, Wind, and Fire: Harry Fonseca, Jonathan Batkin (Editor), Wheelwright Museum, Santa Fe.
- Native American Art in the Twentieth Century: Makers, Meanings, Histories , Jackson Rushing (Editor), Routledge LTD.
- The Writer's Journal: 40 Contemporary Authors and Their Journals, Sheila Bender (Editor), Delta.
- Reinventing the Enemy's Language: Contemporary Native Women's Writing of North America, Joy Harjo and Gloria Bird (editors), W.W. Norton.
- Durable Breath: Contemporary Native American Poetry, John E. Smelcer, D. L. Birchfield (Editors), Salmon Run Press
- A Gathering of Spirit: A Collection by North American Indian Women, Beth Brant (Editor), Firebrand Books.
- Home Places: Contemporary Native American Writing from Sun Tracks (Sun Tracks, Vol 31), Larry Evers, Ofelia ZepedaOfelia ZepedaOfelia Zepeda is a Tohono O'odham poet and intellectual. Zepeda is a professor of linguistics at the University of Arizona and is well known for her efforts in the preservation of her native language and promotion literacy in it. She is also known for her work as a consultant and advocate on...
(Editors), University of Arizona Press. - Dancing on the Rim of the World : An Anthology of Contemporary Northwest Native American Writing (Sun Tracks, Vol 19), Andrea Lerner (Editor), Univ of Arizona Press.
- Returning the Gift: Poetry and Prose from the First North American Native Writers' Festival, (Sun Tracks Books, No 29) University of Arizona Press.
- The World begins Here: Oregon Short Fiction, (Oregon Literature Series, Vol 1), Glen A. Love (Editor), Oregon State Univ Press.
- Varieties of Hope: An Anthology of Oregon Prose, (Oregon Literature Series, Vol 3), Gordon B. Dodds (Editor), Oregon State Univ Press.
- From Here We Speak: An Anthology of Oregon Poetry (Oregon Literature Series ; V. 4), Ingrid Wendt, Primus St. John (Editors), Oregon State Univ Press.
- The Stories We Tell: An Anthology of Oregon Folk Literature (Oregon Literature Series Vol. 5), Suzi Jones, Jarold Ramsey (Editors), Oregon State Univ Press.
- A Circle of Nations: Voices and Visions of American Indians, John Gattuso (Editor), Beyond Words PublishingBeyond Words PublishingBeyond Words Publishing is a book publishing company located in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1983, the company was unprofitable in its early years, though its works were award winning. The privately owned company focuses on non-fiction titles in the New Age genre, but began as a...
Co. - We, the human beings: 27 contemporary native American artists, Wooster Art Museum.
- Talking Leaves: Contemporary Native American Short Stories, Craig Lesley, Katheryn Stavrakis (Editor) Dell Books
- The Clouds Threw This Light, Phillip Foss (Editor), Institute of American Indian Arts Press.
- Songs from This Earth on Turtle's Back: An Anthology of Poetry by American Indian Writers, Joseph Bruchac (Editor), Greenfield Review Press
Interviews and critical essays
- The Nature of Native American Poetry, Norma C. Wilson, Univ. New Mexico Press.
- Here First, Brian Swann, Arnold Krupat (Editors), Random House.
- "Contrary Iconography", Jackson Rushing, New Art Examiner, Summer 1994.
- "The Earth is Richer for this Voice", Interview by Kim Caldwell in Raven's Chronicles, Winter 93-94.
Biographical information
- Notable Native Americans, Sharon Malinowski & George H.J. Abrams (Editors), Gale Research.
- The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters, Patrick D. Lester, Univ of Oklahoma Press.
- St. James Guide to Native North American Artists, Roger Matuz (Editor), Gale Research.
- Contemporary Authors: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Nonfiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television, Volume 135, Susan M. Trosky (Editor), Gale Research.
Videos
- Salmon: Why Bother?, from Sea Grant
- Faithful to Continuance, from Mimbres Fever Productions
Work published in Translation
- Les Cahiers- de poesie recontre, 25 special, La poesie Amerindienne, May 1989, Manuel Van Theinen (Editor), France.
- Elenco Racconti Raccolta Scrittrici Indianoamericane, Laura Coltelli, Dr. Cinzia Biagotti (Editors), Giunti Gruppo Editoriale, Publisher, Firenze, Italy.
External links
- Profile of Liz on Voices in the Gaps
- A short biography from the Internet Public Library's Native American Authors Project
- Liz's contribution to the WY.KAN.USH.PUM Gala
- The 2001 James B. Castles Endowment Lecture Memory and Other Familiar Words
- Interview with Joe Fedderson discusses collaboration with Liz Woody
- The Buffett Award for Indigenous Leadership in Conservation
- Western Indigenous Artists Network
- The Oregon History Project
- Is There an Oregon Poetry?, talk given by Erik Muller at Willamette University