Kenah
Kenah is Powhatan Algonquian for “thank you.” For us, the name represents our gratitude to the clients who entrust us to collaborate with them to achieve tribal goals. It is also a tribute to the Powhatan clients that gave Senior Executive Director, Michelle Lea Kiel, Ph.D., her start in Indian Country and to the Pamunkey roots of our Executive Director, Ashley Atkins Spivey, Ph.D.
At Kenah, our goal is to build long-term relationships with our tribal clients. We do this through respect, discretion, and honesty. We only take cases that we believe enhance tribal rights, sovereignty, capacity, and cultural preservation. We use anthropology and anthropological expertise to advocate for and aid tribes on terms they define and in ways that ensure tribal ownership of tribal history.
Our team
Michelle Lea Kiel, PhD Senior Executive Director
Dr. Kiel is a political anthropologist whose research focused on the intersection of state bureaucracy and Indigenous populations. Michelle’s academic and professional experience gives her a unique perspective on how to mobilize data to aid indigenous communities to achieve their goals. Dr. Kiel specializes in federal acknowledgment, land into trust, natural resource rights, community and economic development, historic and ethnographic research and analysis, capacity building, and program development. Dr. Kiel has been working with Indigenous communities for over 20 years.
Ashley Atkins Spivey, PhD
Executive Director
Dr. Spivey is an historical anthropologist specializing in the archaeology and culture of Powhatan Algonquian communities located in Tidewater Virginia. Dr. Spivey’s academic and professional experience has centered on supporting tribal sovereignty through tribal cultural and natural resource management and tribal historic preservation. She has worked with tribes, universities, museums, and federal and state agencies to support and implement historic preservation as well as cultural and natural resource management programs that incorporate the needs of tribal communities. As a member of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, Dr. Spivey has a close connection to the Indigenous communities of Virginia. This has included developing Indigenous led cultural heritage and natural resource management strategies and facilitating administrative capacity building through consultation on program development and implementation.
Stephanie Rose Hasselbacher, PhD
Associate Anthropologist
Dr. Hasselbacher is a linguistic anthropologist specializing in ethnographic research and program development, with expertise in community-driven language and literacy reclamation efforts. She has 15 years of experience working with Indigenous communities on projects that support tribal sovereignty and protection of linguistic, cultural, and historic resources. Dr. Hasselbacher’s current efforts focus on organizational capacity building in the areas of federal acknowledgment, language reclamation, anthropological research and analysis, program management, grant writing, and grant management.
Catherine Hill, MA
Research Associate
Mrs. Hill is a cultural heritage and archaeological professional whose work has focused on ethical considerations in museum collections. With an academic background in archaeology, she is skilled in Program Development, Historic Research and Analysis, and Museum Management. Catherine has played a leading role in international repatriation efforts and facilitating collaboration with underrepresented communities in Indian Country and abroad. Her former work with the National Museum of Natural History has given her a wide range of experiences in reconciling the harmful legacies of colonialism, and her collaborations with Tribal communities have resulted in $1 million in grants supporting tribal initiatives and institutional collaboration.
Katie Gibson, MA
Research Associate
Ms. Gibson is a public historian with experience in research, archives, genealogy, and federal acknowledgment. Katie has worked in different capacities with her local historical organizations and is interested in the historic preservation of underrepresented histories. She has previously worked as Archive and Collections Specialist with the Mattaponi Indian Tribe and Reservation on their petition for federal acknowledgment.
Katie McGhee
Research Assistant
Mx. McGhee is a recent graduate of the University of Texas at Austin’s undergraduate linguistics program with a focus on computational linguistics, archival research, and Native American history. They have experience establishing the provenance of archival materials, analyzing early linguistic notation systems, and have previously worked with the American Philosophical Society as a Mellon Native American Scholars Initiative Intern. As a descendant of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Mx. McGhee has long had an interest in the issues facing Indian Country and this has shaped their approach to working with Indigenous communities.
Antonia Medina
Administrative Assistant
Ms. Medina’s professional background is in administrative services. She has served as an Administration Manager in the U.S. Air Force for over 13 years and has received her Associates of Applied Science in Business Administration from the Community College of the Air Force. Her interests include providing the best support services possible to assist those working directly with Indigenous communities. Antonia is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation.
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