#mmiwsisters

[sorrowsofsilence]

I don’t usually post anything outside of bomens, but it’s important I use my voice to honour my missing sisters, ancestors, cousins, and ndn people alike

It’s red dress day in Canada, a day to bring forward and acknowledge our missing and murdered indigenous women, girls, and 2sp+.

Today is important to me, and it’s important to bring awareness <3

[mugshot-midge]

This is a portrait of Matoaka aka Pocahontas painted while she was alive

[twitwir]

[nawhstudiesadams]

“The National Crime Information Center reports that, in 2016, there were 5,712 reports of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls, though the US Department of Justice’s federal missing persons database, NamUs, only logged 116 cases.”

As a settler-colonialist nation, the United States has committed genocide against Indigenous peoples since its founding. Even before the United States was an official nation, colonizers (generally from Europe) began to wipe out Indigenous populations because of prejudices and greed for monetary gain, as well as the possession of native land. The lack of engagement from the government to help find these women, and to fight for these women, is just another way colonization has continued into the 21st Century.  

Quote Source:

Native Hope. “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW)” Accessed February 2, 2024. https://www.nativehope.org/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-mmiw.

[nawhstudiesadams]

Today, May 5th is National Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women's Day . On May 5 people from across the United States and Canada take part in raising awareness about MMIW by wearing red, participating in marches and protests, and hosting events. Today is about honoring the lives that have been lost to this crisis, it is also about protesting the lack of police involvement, lack of media coverage, and the blatant racism towards Native Americans that has continued this crisis. To fix this, there is an entire movement full of activists that spend their time trying to change the law, and help these women, families, and communities find justice. The quest for justice is far from over and will never be till Native American Women are truly safe, till the last family finds justice, and healing can begin.

Native Hope. “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW)” Accessed February 2, 2024. https://www.nativehope.org/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-mmiw.

Photo Source:

"Participants in the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls Day of Awareness made a human chain around the Wisconsin State Capitol on Friday, May 5 2023." Photograph, Wisconsin Examiner, May 5, 2023. https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2023/05/06/wisconsin-rally-for-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women/

[nawhstudiesadams]

Artwork Source:

Lafond, Nayana. "Abigail in RED." Acrylic on canvas. Five Points Arts, 2020. https://fivepointsarts.org/2022/03/28/nayana-lafond-portraits-in-red-missing-murdered-indigenous-people-painting-project/#.

"The red hand symbolizes the connection between the physical world and the spiritual world. Native Americans believe that the dead can see red, so by wearing red we invoke the help of our ancestors and spiritual guides."

Source:

Native Hope. “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW)” Accessed February 2, 2024. https://www.nativehope.org/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-mmiw.

[ureekahooz]

[ureekahooz]