A day of awareness about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives
Presented by Kluge-Ruhe and the Native and Indigenous Relations Community at UVA
Installation of red dresses
at Kluge-Ruhe, 10 am - 4 pm
Lecture by Professor Kasey
Jernigan followed by reception,
6:00-7:30 pm
Doors open at 5:00 pm
Make a reservation: www.kluge-ruhe.org
May 5 is known in First Nations communities as “Red Dress Day,” drawing awareness to the thousands of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives whose tragic disappearance is a daily heartbreak for their families and communities. The movement started in Canada where Jaime Black, a multidisciplinary artist of mixed Anishinaabe and Finnish descent, originated The REDress Project in 2010. Installing hundreds of red dresses in locally-specific landscapes, including forests, parks, apartment buildings, and museums, draws attention to the disappearance of women, girls, and two-spirits, a loss that is both individual and collective. Black said, "People notice there is a presence in the absence.” Since her first installation of red dresses in Winnipeg, Black has brought the project to a variety of locations in Canada and the USA, including the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC in 2019. Jaime Black has given Kluge-Ruhe permission to present a community-driven installation of red dresses in the trees surrounding the museum.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) is one of the most pressing ethical issues of our time. Although statistics on gender-based violence are difficult to collect, the data are chilling. According to the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, four out of every five Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirits will be affected by violence in their lifetimes, and Native women are murdered at a rate that is ten times higher than that of white women. Kluge-Ruhe, in partnership with the Native and Indigenous Relations Community at UVA, offers this installation and lecture to invite faculty, staff, students, and community members to better understand the history and present of gender-based violence and to participate in local, regional, and transnational conversations on MMIR. Art and education are two parts of a long-term solution to a deeply-entrenched problem.
Make a reservation to visit Kluge-Ruhe.
Lecture by Professor Kasey Jernigan, 6:00 pm, Doors open at 5:00 pm
Invisible Epidemic: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives
Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirits go missing or are murdered at startling rates. Although Indigenous-led movements are working hard to bring more awareness to this issue, there is limited legislation, police support, and mainstream media coverage. This talk discusses issues of data, legislation, and why this violence continues in Indian Country and beyond.
This event begins at 5:00 pm so attendees can see an installation of red dresses in the trees surrounding the museum. The lecture will be held under a tent behind the museum. Please allow sufficient time to park and take your seat by 6:00 pm.
Teresa Pollak will open the event by welcoming participants on behalf of the Monacan Nation. A reception will follow the lecture.
Kasey Jernigan is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and an Assistant Professor in the departments of American Studies and Anthropology. Her work links historical trauma with contemporary experiences of structural violence to make sense of disparate health outcomes among Indigenous peoples. She teaches courses on Native American and Indigenous Studies that address #MMIR, settler colonialism, and land-based health.
