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Artists are among those continuing to raise awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous people in Alaska.
They want to make sure their loved ones are not forgotten – and seeking justice for those who’ve gone missing and murdered.
Seattle-based fashion designer Mary Kelsay (Unangax̂) is using her talent to create conversations around MMIP.
“I know that a lot of our Indigenous folks know, the problems we face, you know, with our missing and murdered relatives, but a lot of our non-Indigenous members of our community do not.”
To draw awareness and spark conversations, Kelsay created a collection of five red dresses.
“It was inspired by the portrait that Dustin Newman, a fellow Unangax̂ artist created, which represented our missing and murdered sisters here in Alaska, from all areas of Alaska, and when I saw the portrait, I decided that I wanted to make those dresses come alive.”
The Our Sisters Red Dress Collection has been shown in Alaska, Washington state, and has journeyed all the way to Paris. The dresses were featured at the Washington State History Museum last year in Seattle, where they received much public attention.
“I think for a lot of our Indigenous community, it is creating, like healing, a part of a healing process and a healing space. A lot of people have come up and you know, told me that it was healing, and they shared their stories, relations to a missing, murder relative.”
The issue is personal for Kelsay.
She says one of her childhood friends was taken, and also one of her own family members.
“I think that we all need to use our voices to kind of stand up for our relatives who can can’t speak. And I know that it sometimes it’s really hard to use our voices, and I’m getting better at using my voice and sharing the story of our relatives. And yeah, I’m just going to keep sharing the collection for as long as I can. And for as long as I have to.”
One of the dresses was donated to the Red Dress Gala being held in Anchorage, Alaska, this month, to benefit an Indigenous-led MMIWG2s working group in the state.
This story is a partnership with First Nations Experience Television Network and supported by The Public Welfare Foundation, committed to advancing transformative youth and criminal justice reforms.
Royal Victoria Hospital in Montréal.
A judge in Quebec has ordered McGill University to honor the terms of an agreement with an Indigenous group over the search for possible unmarked graves.
As Dan Karpenchuk reports, the site is at a former Montreal hospital.
The group Mohawk Mothers says Quebec’s infrastructure agency did not properly involve the panel of archeologists appointed to oversee the search for graves.
The location is the site of a future downtown university campus expansion.
Having the expert panel involved was a main part of the deal between developers and the Indigenous group.
The Mohawk Mothers have tried several times, in court, to stop construction fearing human remains would be desecrated.
Kahentinetha is one of the Mohawk Mothers.
She says wants the site properly searched for unmarked graves.
“That’s what we want. And we will not stop until we accomplish that. So that’s where we are now. We’ve been stopped many times. But it hasn’t stopped.”
The former Royal Victoria Hospital was the site of mind control experiments held at the psychiatric institute that was affiliated with he hospital in the 1950’s and 60’s.
Mohawk Mothers say it’s possible Indigenous and non-Indigenous survivors of those treatments are buried on the site.
Earlier this year, a search using cadaver dogs discovered evidence of human remains at the site.
Since then there has been no confirmation of human remains.
In November, a court reinstated the archeologist panel, but the university is appealing that decision.
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