Wenonah Caroline Brown

Wenonah was and is love.

She took her journey into the spirit world unexpectedly on the morning of October 30th, 2022, surrounded in presence by her loved ones.

She loved hard, and strong, and anyone within her extensive reach felt it from coast to coast and border to border.

She loved equally on human and animal kind... right down to her daily routine of cooking meals daily for her Bea-Tzu companion pups.

Wenonah was the definition of a beloved matriarch. From consummate knowledge and cellular embodiment of ancestral wisdom, to fierce protector of all who needed her strength. From mentor offering the purest love and the highest of standards to all who sought her advice, to healer with hands which were miraculous instruments of intuition- and as always, adoring mother and grandmother, especially to her own family; who were always present in her words and thoughts, and who now as a clan embody the different aspects of this uniquely extraordinary woman.

She was born in Putnam, CT September 7, 1947 to John B Brown Sr. of Westerly RI, and Ella Wilcox ( Sekatau ) of CT. The oldest of nine of John & Ella's children.

Wenonah would marry Harry Nelson Mars Jr. of RI and the two had three daughters between 1975 and 1980, Anemone, Quahna, and Nishke Mars. A second marriage in life to Douglas Harris of NY would bring her stepson Touré Harris into the familial fold. In 1996 she began her journey into incomparable grandmotherhood. Her grandchildren ( 5 grandsons and 1 granddaughter) Atsa Zah, Eiyazh Foster, Mishkwatuk (Jayden ) Mars, Liliana Ava Mae Mars, Skylar Rain Etsitty and Nodin River Etsitty, were her reigning pride and joy and she is survived by four siblings; Roslyn Brown, Hiawatha J, Brown, John B Brown III and Muriel Stanton Brown- all of her children and grandchildren.

Wenonah devoted her life to the service of protecting Indigenous children and traditional family structures, through not only her implementation and upholding of "organic law and lore", but also her expert knowledge and application of the Indian Child Welfare Act. She was a formidable advocate of the various protections and preservations of traditional core family values not only within tribal infrastructures, but extensively inclusive within inter-state departments of children and families along with state family court systems for over 35 years. Her service to her tribal people expanded throughout her life in multiple facets and in the wake of her mother's passing, Wenonah assumed the role of hereditary traditional Medicine Woman of the Narragansett Tribe, as was her mother before.

Wenonah never deviated from her devotion to her family or work (often one and the same), and spent moments in her last days ensuring her daughters would convey her messages to "make sure to get the cases right".

All of us who were fortunate enough to know her are very clear that a human of this caliber is a rarity to encounter, and every moment spent with her generated wonder for the indomitable power of her spirit and humanity.

With a heavy heart, we look to her family to see glimpses and demonstrations of Wenonah- and it is essential we draw upon the knowledge that each and every one of us who were impacted by her generosity can reflect shimmering rays of that bright light back to each other.

She was always a great ancestor walking amongst us, and now we each must show our love and respect to her legacy by carrying forward the many gifts she bestowed.

Wenonah will forever continue to be loved and missed immutably by many intertribal and general communities abroad, especially within her second home amongst the Eastern Band Cherokee Tribe in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina- and most of all, by her cherished family. Her legacy lives on through the love of her children and grandchildren.

Wenonah's celebration of life / sharing will be held on Tuesday November 8, 2022 from 4-7 pm at the Avery-Storti Funeral Home

88 Columbia St. Wakefield, RI 02879, and a traditional graveside burial on November 9th, 2022 at 11:00 am at the Narragansett Indian Tribal Cemetery in Charlestown R. I. on the reservation lands.