Red Skirt Day - No More Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

Red Skirt Day Jingle Dress Regalia

 Everyone I know has a story about MMIW. Everyone has a story of the loss, of aunties and sisters
going to the store and never coming home, of bodies being discovered with knife marks and being ruled suicides... Native American women are ten times more likely to be murdered than any other ethnicity. The Federal government does not investigate these problems. These are old stories. They are ingrained into us as Native girls, we are told to travel in groups, never tell a white man you're Native if he asks. As time has gone on, marches and protests have sprouted up to raise awareness to this problem, and groups have formed in order to advocate for institutional change. 


 A lot of art and regalia is created in the color red in order to bring awareness and pay respect to the memories of our stolen sisters. The color red is the color of the South on the sacred Medicine Wheel, and it is said that wearing red catches the attention of those who have become our ancestors on the other side. A lot of times, the final day of Powwow and Wacipi will be dedicated as Red Skirt Days. Everyone is expected to wear red, the dancers don fully red regalia, and the drum groups play songs of remembrance and love for our sisters who were taken from us too soon. Oftentimes, while women dance, families of those considered to be MMIW will display posters of their faces, and their own regalia and beloved items so that their spirits can come back easily and see the love we still carry for them. 


I know for a fact that a lot of indigenous women oftentimes feel excluded by mass movements for women's rights. While it is true that other ethnicities struggle with gender-based attacks and murder, to no extent is it as bad as it is for Native American women. A lot of times, these marches and movements leave behind indigenous women, because our struggles go unseen by the rest of the United States. I have hope, however, that Red Skirt Days will be a forecast for the attention to these issues by the wider public. When I was a child, these days devoted to love and memory did not exist. Now, these women are celebrated and remembered. If that continues and spreads outside of their direct communities, maybe one day, they will receive the justice they so deserve. 


If you are interested in supporting the NoMoreMMIW movement, please visit: MMIW USA

This organization is Oregon-based and focused on training indigenous women in self-defense and other protective measures to employ against those who would try and hurt us. 

The WeRNatives website also has a lot of helpful information compiled here: WeRNative 

This is a very good resource, as it links to other resources and talks about what any average person can do to help out. 


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