On Native Ground
The On Native Ground initiative aims to make visible Indigenous histories across the Americas, as well as work with local tribes to establish a strong network for Native communities and scholarship at VCU. The initiative includes an annual guest lecture series spotlighting Indigenous scholars and writers, the development of a land acknowledgement at VCU, and the Karenne Wood Native Writer/Artist in Residence program. The HRC also proudly supports the annual Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival.
Summer 2026
Upper Mattaponi Tribal Judicial Summit
Date: Friday, Jul 10, 2026
Karenne Wood Native Writer/Artist Residency Program
In November of 2021, The Humanities Research Center launched the Karenne Wood Native Writer/Artist Residency program. The program 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.
Indigenous Elder in Residence Program
The HRC's new Indigenous Elder-in-Residence Program, launching in Spring 2026 as part of our "On Native Ground" initiative, will bring nationally-renowned Indigenous elders to campus each spring semester to foster cultural, academic, social, and spiritual support for our students and broader campus community.
Past Events
November 20-23, 2025
The Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival
The Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival aims to raise awareness about Native American language, cultures, and societies through films that share Native American perspectives.
November 18, 2025
"On Native Ground:" Virginia Native Nations, Sovereignty, and Persistence (video)
4:00 p.m. (in person)
The Humanities Research Center and the VCU Office of the Provost hosted an event with Chief of the Chickahominy Nation Stephen R. Adkins.
November 12, 2025
The Worst Trickster Story Ever Told
4:00 p.m. (in-person)
The speaker for this event was Keith Richotte, Professor of Law at the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona.
October 30, 2025
Our Land, Our Art: Virginia Native Artists Reclaim Space
4:00 p.m. (in person)
The speakers for this event were Rebecca Hill, Pamunkey Nation and Siera Hyte, Cherokee Nation.
Ethan Brown
October 13, 2025
Ethan Brown: Pamunkey Portrait Screening
4:00 p.m. (in person)
Former Karenne Wood artist in residence at the HRC Ethan Brown, Pamunkey Nation, premiered his new documentary, Pamunkey Portrait, in honor of Indigenous People's Day.
November 22-24, 2024
The Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival
The Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival aims to raise awareness about Native American language, cultures, and societies through films that share Native American perspectives.
November 21, 2024
'1666: A Novel' Reading and Discussion (video)
4:00 p.m. (in person)
A member of the Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia, Lora Chilton tells the story of her people and their unlikely survival due to the courage of three Patawomeck women in 1666: A Novel.
November 20, 2024
Empowering the Self through Indigenous Frameworks
5:00 p.m. (online)
The speaker for this event was Ray John Jr., a member of the Oneida Nation of the Thames, and experienced educator, counselor, and advisor.
November 14, 2024
Denying Blackness: The Enduring Legacy of the "Science" of Racial Purity in the Federal Recognition Process
4:00 p.m. (in person)
Dr. Arica L. Coleman is an award-winning, nationally recognized American historian and independent scholar whose research focuses on comparative ethnic studies and racial formation and identity issues.
October 24, 2024
The Rappahannock Peoples: An Analysis of Modern Tribal History and Social Issues
4:00 p.m. (in person)
The speaker for this event was Sequoyah Fortune, Rappahannock artist and writer, and Karenne Wood Native Artist-in-Residence at the HRC.
Indigenous Film in Virginia, Past and Future: The Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival
The speakers for this event were Brad Brown, Pamunkey Nation, and Director of Pocahontas Reframed, and Peter Kirkpatrick, PhD, Professor Emeritus, VCU.
Wrap Stitch Beadwork Workshop with Alicia Aldaz
The presenter for this workshop was Alicia Aldaz, textiles and beadwork artist and designer from the Monacan Indian Nation of Virginia, and current Karenne Wood Native Artist-in-Residence at the HRC.
New Beginnings: Relations between Native Nations and the Commonwealth of Virginia [video]
The speaker for this event was David Wilkins, PhD, E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor in Leadership Studies, University of Richmond.
Empowering Threads: Alicia Aldaz on Textiles, Beadwork and Native Artistry
The speaker for this event was Alicia Aldaz, Monacan nation, and 2023 Karenne Wood Native Artist in residence at the Humanities Research Center.
Indigenous Photo Power: Personal Reflections [video]
The speaker for this event was Dr. Phoebe Farris, Professor Emerita, Purdue University, and photojournalist.
Fractures of Memory: Indigenous Futurisms and Experiential Symbolism
The speakers for this event were Ethan Brown, Pamunkey artist and filmmaker; and Federico Cuatlacuatl, artist, filmmaker and assistant professor of studio art at UVA. The artists presented two of their films, "Tsenacommacah" and "First Landings."
WAMPUM Framework: Indigenous Climate Change Adaptation Strategies
[video]
The speaker for this virtual event was Kelsey Leonard, Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Waters, Climate, and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo.
Water and Land: Indigenous Performance as Invitation to Action
[video]
The speaker for this virtual event was Bethany Hughes, assistant professor in the Department of American Culture and a core faculty member in the Native American Studies Program at the University of Michigan.
The Recovery of Cherokee Author John Milton Oskison (1874-1947) [video]
The speaker for this event was Lionel Larré, president of Bordeaux Montaigne University, where he teaches American history with a focus on Native American history and on representations of Native Americans.
The Seed Keeper Reading & Discussion*
The speaker for this event was Diane Wilson, writer, speaker, educator, and author of "The Seed Keeper" (Milkweed, 2021).
*To view the protected event video, please reach out to hrc@vcu.edu.
Not a Nation of Immigrants: Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy, and a History of Erasure and Exclusion [video]
The speaker for this virtual event was Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Ph.D., American historian, writer and activist, and a professor emerita of Ethnic Studies at California State University, East Bay. This event is part of the HRC Race, Ethnicity and Social Justice (On Native Ground) Speaker Series.
Savage Conversations [video]
The speaker for this event was LeAnne Howe, Eidson Distinguished Professor in American Literature at the University of Georgia. This event is part of the HRC Race, Ethnicity and Social Justice Speaker Series.
Envisioning Afro-Indigenous Futures: Land Back, Reparations, and the Aftermath of Colonialism and White Supremacy [video]
The speaker for this virtual event was Kyle T. Mays, Ph.D., assistant professor of history at UCLA. This event is part of the HRC Race, Ethnicity and Social Justice Speaker Series.