Rose Powhatan

Rose Powhatan is a mixed-media artist, educator and cultural practitioner. She earned her honors undergraduate and graduate degrees in studio arts, art history and education from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and completed graduate studies at University of London (in the UK). As a visual artist, Ms. Powhatan has created paintings, murals, installations, prints, and totem poles- all infused with culturally-based Eastern Woodlands symbolism. She is also a storyteller whose film work includes her appearances in “The New World”, the HBO mini-series “John Adams”, and Jamestown Settlement’s “1607:A Nation Takes Root”.

Ms. Powhatan’s work as an educator and curriculum writer includes her having taught studio arts, theatre and humanities courses in the United States and the United Kingdom for over 25 years, in addition to her authorship of new courses and instructional materials. Her creative writing consists of autobiographical and historical material, as well as staged plays.

Numerous awards have been presented to Ms. Powhatan in recognition of her diverse achievements in the arts, education and community service. Select board memberships include the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the Nation’s Capital, the Intertribal Women’s Circle, and ATLATL National Native Arts Network (the nation’s premiere Native American arts organization).

Ms. Powhatan is also a former Cafritz Foundation and Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Fellow, whose membership in the British Fulbright Scholars Association underscores her support for promoting positive international solidarity. She is the Assistant Chief of the Tauxenent Nation of Fairfax County and the tribe’s 2007 co-founder.


(photo – above) 2005: Rose Powhatan with her contemporary Eastern Algonquin totem. The sculpture, made from wood, vines, clay and adorned with wild turkey feathers, honors her ancestor Keziah Powhatan. Keziah Powhatan was the leader of a Northern Virginia Indian band of Tauxenents (Dogues) whose “hostile actions” led to the removal of the first Fairfax County courthouse at Tyson’s Corner, VA in 1752 (she claimed ownership of the land). The D.A.R. plaque (right) was erected to record the incident (near Chain Bridge Road and Courthouse Road in Fairfax County).


WHEN: Sunday, November 20 at 3 PM
WHERE: Washington, DC Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th Street, NW
Register

This is a Women and Girls Lead event, a media initiative of ITVS. Girl Scouts (GSCNC) can earn patch points by attending a “We Still Live Here” Community Cinema event. Sign-in sheets will be available at the venue.