Elizabeth Woody

A poet, author, essayist and visual artist, Elizabeth Woody is also an educator, mentor, collaborator and community leader. Woody is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Oregon, of Yakama Nation Wasco descent, and “born for” the Tódích’íinii (Bitter Water clan) of the Navajo Nation. Her paternal grandfather’s clan is Mą‘ii deeshgiizhinii (Coyote Pass – Jemez clan).

Through her many mediums, Woody challenges us to value the natural world, her people, and her family. She is a storyteller with an understanding of the importance of truth-telling, and we are invited through her passion, humor, and dignity to witness history through this lens. In 2016, she became the first Native American to be named Oregon’s Poet Laureate. She is a champion of the arts and a treasured culture bearer, her dedication manifesting through her ongoing work with and for tribes, colleges, universities, literary and arts organizations, and libraries.

Woody earned a Master of Public Administration degree through the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government’s Executive Leadership Institute of Portland State University, a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from The Evergreen State College, and studied Creative Writing and Two-Dimensional Arts at the Institute of American Indian Arts. She is the recipient of numerous awards.

It is our art people need and look for. It is our knowledge that matters in the healing and movement for Justice.

~ Elizabeth Woody