Linda Woods

Linda Woods: First woman veteran to carry an Eagle Staff

An Eagle Staff is a sacred symbol in Native American culture. For the tribal member who carries it, it represents tradition and the flag of their nation. For Linda Woods, a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, it symbolizes her time as a woman veteran, her journey to recovery and her role in helping others in her community.

Woods was born in Detroit in 1943 and grew up in a household marred by poverty and alcoholism. She said she was sexually abused by a family member from the ages of 8 to 12. She would eventually move in with her grandmother, who would raise her in what Woods calls “an act of love.”

“My mother and stepfather were both alcoholics,” said Woods, who now lives in Traverse City. “But they had a friend who served in the Army Air Corps, and I really liked and respected her. She inspired to me to join the Air Force.”

After high school, Woods delayed joining the Air Force for a year out of fear of being medically examined. “I was embarrassed to let anyone examine me,” she said. “I thought they would know I was abused.”

Woods would eventually join when she was 19 and served honorably from 1962 to 1966. But in the military, she would once again experience sexual abuse.

“While in the Air Force, I was sexually assaulted by three men,” Woods said. “I ended up in the hospital because of it. And my way of coping with it was alcohol.”

It would take three years for Woods to get sober. She ended up in California with her two sons, eventually going on to earn her master’s degree in social work from San Jose State University. Woods wanted to help others in her tribe who were dealing with substance abuse.

Woods served in that role for many years before retiring in 2008. A few years later, she received a call from a friend that would change her life.

“My friend Bill Nash called me and said ‘I have this eagle head I’ve been asked to take care of. I was told to give it to a veteran, and I’d like to give it to you.’”

Woods is the first woman veteran in the United States to have an Eagle Staff, a prominent symbol in her culture. “Migizi,” as she’s nicknamed it, has 62 feathers, each with its own meaning. Woods travels the world with Migizi, visiting the graves of fallen service members, bringing it to powwows and to speaking events like the MVAA Women Veterans Conference.

“It brings me tremendous joy and healing to know that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing,” she said. “I know it’s hard sometimes, but I hope these women will continue to talk to each other and share their stories. It’s the only way to find healing.”