By Corvo Rohwer, Puyallup Tribal News
In recognition of May 5 as the National Day of Awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous women and people, the Community Domestic Violence Advocacy Program (səxhung red dresses near various Tribal Administration buildings as part of its visibility campaign this year.
“What we’re doing with the red dress campaign is making it visible and showing our intention that the movement is alive,” Senior Administrative Assistant Amber Holland said. “This is about visibility; this is about honoring and this is about prevention.”
The campaign of hanging red dresses was inspired by Red River Métis artist and activist Jaime Black, who displayed the installation art project in public places around Canada as a visual reminder of the MMIWP issue. With vibrant red fabrics hanging from trees and infrastructure, the dresses are intended to represent the women who should be here who were taken.
Anti-Trafficking Program Manager Carolyn DeFord said bringing the red dress campaign to the Puyallup Reservation helps amplify the message and continue to represent the movement in a powerful way.
“There’s a gravity to it that you can’t ignore when you see those dresses hanging there,” DeFord said.
Alongside the installation of the dresses, CDVAP also assembled silent witness stands within Tribal Admin (yayusali). These shawl-adorned sculptures bear the silhouettes of the missing women and girls, and Holland described them as a humanizing visual reminder of the ongoing efforts of MMIWP.
“It’s a statement of remembrance, of remembering our people and that they’re missing and that they deserve justice,” Holland said. “If we stop rallying, who is going to rally for us? We need to make it loud and clear that we’re deserving of justice.”
To stay updated regarding additional MMIWP Awareness Month events, such as the red shirt photo challenge, visit the Puyallup Tribe CDVAP Facebook page for flyers and information. To get in touch with the department directly, reach out to CDVAP@puyalluptribe-nsn.gov.
