MARQUETTE (WWJ) - Northern Michigan University students are bringing awareness to missing indigenous women.
Amber Morseau, the director of NMU’s Center for Native American Studies, said hosting a “Red Dress Installation” is an important way to highlight the important issue.
“Whitman Woods is a beautiful space,” Morseau said. “Not only is this space able to create awareness around Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, it provides a space for healing as we sing for our Sisters to return home at our Firesite.”
Jamie Kuehnl, is collaborating on the installation. Kuehnl teaches at the Center for Native American Studies and the university’s Gender and Sexuality Studies program. She said her daughter’s activism as well as the work being done by young people to highlight social justice helped inspire her.
Métis artist Jaime Black’s REDress Project was another major influence. Kuehnl said she thought the Canadian project could have a significant impact in Marquette.
According to the university’s Center for Native American Studies’ statement on the project, Indigenous groups experience violence at higher rates than any other demographic.
“Native women and girls, specifically, are disproportionately affected by the violence,” the statement said. “For example, a 2016 study by the National Institute of Justice estimated that 84 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime.”
The statement said that there hasn’t been any direct actions taken by the federal government despite a national movement to raise awareness about the issue.
There have been 23 “hotspots'' identified that have a high percentage of cases of missing and murdered indigenous women. Locations include urban areas that are along highways that have access to the border with Canada, including Chicago and Minneapolis, along with cities along the I-29 corridor.
“Homicide is the third leading cause of death among women and girls between 10 and 24 years of age, and the fifth leading cause of death among women between 25 and 34 years of age,” the statement said.
Savanna’s Act, which was signed into law in 2020, is working to address some of the issues contributing to the crisis. These measures include “clarifying the responsibilities of Federal, State, Tribal and local governments and law enforcement agencies with respect to responding to cases of missing and murdered Indans; increasing coordination and communication between agencies; empowering Tribal governments wit the resources and information necessary to ‘effectively’ respond to cases; and increasing the collection of data relating to missing and murdered Indian men, women and children,” according to the statement.
Experts say there is still work to be done to ensure the law is being followed and indigenous groups are being protected.
The red dresses will be displayed on campus for about a month.