May Art Installation ''The REDress Project'' honors Indigenous Women
May 09, 2019
Whatcom Community College will host an art installation May 19-25 to honor and remember missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW). Red dresses will be on display between Baker Hall and Laidlaw Center to represent the thousands of native women and girls who go missing or are murdered each year. According to the Urban Indian Health Institute in 2016, that number was reported to be 5,712.
The original “REDress Project” by artist and Métis Nation member Jaime Black began in Winnipeg in 2011 to draw attention to crime against Aboriginal women in Canada. The project has since spread to the U.S. and calls attention to the lack of reporting, data, and justice for Native American women. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, murder is the third leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women.The installation is a collaboration between WCC’s native staff and The Equity Project. Dresses for the installation were donated by native staff and students. In the event that students or staff need someone to talk to after viewing the display, counseling services are available that week in Laidlaw Center 116 Monday - Wednesday 3-4 p.m., Thursday 11-noon, and Friday 3-4 p.m. Support for native staff and students will also be available in the Intercultural Center (Syre Student Center 216) Monday 1-2:30 p.m., Wednesday 11:30-1 p.m., and Thursday 10-noon.
Students, staff and community members are encouraged to learn more about this issue by visiting:
- Urban Indian Health Institute: http://www.uihi.org/
- National Indian Council on Aging: https://nicoa.org/
- Artist Jaime Black: http://www.theredressproject.org/
- Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission Against Domestic Violence: https://dvcommission.org/
Contact: Marisa Ellis, Whatcom Community College PIO, 360.383.3310, pio@whatcom.edu