Red Dress and Skirt Making in Honor of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women

In 2016 alone there were 5,712 missing and murdered Native American women in America according to the National Crime Information Center.

DULUTH, Minn. – Indigenous women gathered this weekend to make red skirts, dresses, and shawls in honor of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

In 2016 alone there were 5,712 missing and murdered Native American women in America according to the National Crime Information Center.

Nearly a dozen women in Duluth were at work sewing, cutting, and ironing fabrics most of which were the color red.

The garments will be worn at the march honoring missing and murdered Indigenous women at the American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO) in Duluth in February.

The women making the garments said red is a ceremonial healing color and has also become a symbol for the missing and murdered Indigenous women. It also represents the plights of those suffering from sexual assault and violence.

“At the foundation the front line of the movement of the missing and murdered indigenous women’s movent is families and the foundation of the movement is families grief and their journey to find healing and justice,” said Renan Goodrich, an advocate for the Native Lives Matter Coalition.

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month and advocates for missing and murdered Indigenous women say that trafficking is a major issue in the community.

This issue hits close to home for the women making the clothing who shared their own harrowing stories.

Most of the women have been touched by the loss of friends and family in the Indigenous community.

“I had two grandchildren murdered this year and my heart is just broken. I’m still dealing with it and I’m trying to focus on everybody else now to help them to heal to make their lives better,” said Lisa Ronnquist, who is part of Leech Lake Ojibwe and is a Duluth resident.

According to the National Institute of Justice, 84 percent of Native Women have experienced violence in their lifetime.

Emotions were raw as women spoke about the dozens of funerals they have attended and the women and girls they know who are currently missing.

They say they feel as though they are not given equal attention as some other people do

“We never hear nothing about anyone who’s a native gone missing everyone else it’s all over we never get that kind of coverage. Why? What’s wrong? We don’t matter? Yes we do matter,” said Ronnquist.

The 5th Annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s March will take place on February 14, 2020, at AICHO in Duluth.

More information about the Native Lives Matter Coalition can be found here.