May 5 is Red Dress Day

by Michele Yatchmeneff, Alaska Native Education & Outreach Executive Director  |   

Dear UAA Community,

May 5 is Red Dress Day or National Day of Awareness for the alarming number of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2S) in the United States and Canada. Four out of five Alaska Native and American Indian women experience violence during their lives. Alaska Native and American Indian women face murder rates that are more than 10 times higher than the national average. Alaska ranks fourth in the nation for the most cases of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Anchorage ranks third in the nation for the most cases in a city/urban area for Missing and Murdered Indigenous women. These statistics come from the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women and Urban Indian Health Institute report.

IWG2S people face disproportionate violence, trauma and exploitation. This is not an Indigenous issue; this is a community issue. We have a collective responsibility for supporting IWG2S persons in reclaiming their power and place. For more information, you can go to the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center and MMIWG2S Alaska Facebook pages. The Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center (AKNWRC) page also has resources and a toolkit that includes an action plan for Alaska communities for when an Indigenous Women, Girl or Two-Spirit person goes missing.

To help raise awareness about MMIWG2S and demonstrate support, individuals and organizations are invited to:

  1. Wear red or display a red dress or decal outside of your home, office or place of work and share your photos with the hashtags #MMIWG2S #NoMoreStolenSisters #GoneButNotForgotten.
  2. Attend the Alaska Native Heritage Center, MMIWG2S Alaska and Sundance Institute Bring Her Home Sundance Movie Q&A webinar event on May 4, 2022, at 10 a.m. Attend the National MMIWG2S+ Awareness Day Vigil & Heartbeat of the Drums on May 5, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Go to the National Indigenous Women’s Resource page for other national events.
  3. Purchase a No More Stolen Sisters shirt from artist Sarah Whalen Lunn. In the center of the No More Stolen Sisters design, the star represents all of the women that have been lost and are now looking down on us and sending us hope. The woman depicted within the design represents all the women we work to save so they can live life unafraid, strong and healthy.
  4. Take a moment of silence to honor and remember our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit people.
  5. Share the StrongHearts Native Helpline (1-844-762-8483), which is a culturally appropriate domestic violence and dating violence helpline for Native Americans.

Sincerely,
Michele Yatchmeneff, Ph.D. (Unangax̂)
Alaska Native Education & Outreach Executive Director

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