A red handprint, usually painted across the mouth, is a symbol that is used to indicate solidarity with

missing and murdered Indigenous women Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) is an epidemic of violence against Indigenous women in Canada, the United States, and Latin America; notably those in the FNIM (First Nations, Inuit, Métis) and Native American communities. Acros ...

and girls in North America, in recognition of the fact that Native American women are up to 10 times more likely to be murdered or sexually assaulted.

Origin of the red handprint

The athlete Jordan Marie Daniel, a competitive runner from the Kul Wicasa Oyate (

Lower Brule Sioux Tribe The Lower Brulé Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation that belongs to the Lower Brulé Lakota Tribe. It is located on the west bank of the Missouri River in Lyman and Stanley counties in central South Dakota in the United States. It is ...

) in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

, was the first to prominently make use of the symbol at the

2019 Boston Marathon The 2019 Boston Marathon was the 123rd running of the annual marathon race held in Boston, Massachusetts. It took place on April 15, 2019. The elite men's race came down to a sprint finish, which Lawrence Cherono won in 2:07:57. The elite wome ...

. Daniel dedicated her run in 2019 to 26 missing or murdered Indigenous women. She stated that she wanted to use her platform to bring awareness to the women, so that they were seen, heard, and remembered. It was subsequently worn by athlete

Rosalie Fish Rosalie Fish is a Native American runner, member of the Cowlitz Tribe, former student athlete at Iowa Central Community College, currently studying and running for the University of Washington. As a senior at Muckleshoot Tribal School, Fish made i ...

in 2019, appeared in billboard campaigns, and was used by Ilona Verley, who was a contestant on the

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

show Canada's Drag Race.

Symbolism for silenced voices

Soldier's Monument on the Santa Fe Plaza">plaza in Santa Fe, New Mexico in June 2020">Santa_Fe_Pl.html" ;"title="Soldiers' Monument (Santa Fe, New Mexico)">Soldier's Monument on the Santa Fe Plaza">plaza in Santa Fe, New Mexico in June 2020 Red handprints symbolize the silence and lack of interest given to victimized Indigenous women, many of whom end up missing or murdered. In 2020, Rhiannon Johnson of CBC News reported on the case of Michelle Buckley of Hay River, Northwest Territories, Hay River, Northwest Territories, N.W.T., who wore the red handprint in a photo shoot to honor her sister Rea, who died when she was 14. Buckley stated the aim of the photo shoot was "to raise awareness that missing and murdered Indigenous women is an issue that Indigenous people face, but it also was a form of healing".

Individuals wearing the red handprint

Jordan Marie Daniel and Rosalie Fish

, a member of the

Cowlitz Tribe The Cowlitz Indian Tribe is a federally recognized tribe of Cowlitz people. They are a tribe of Southwestern Coast Salish people, Coast Salish and Sahaptan indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest located in Washington (state), Washington. Oth ...

in Washington and a student-athlete at the Iowa Central Community College, used her national running platform to honor the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women after being inspired by the use of the symbol by Jordan Marie Daniels. During the state track and field meet Fish dedicated her running medals to missing and murdered Indigenous women, and placed the medals on a poster she made honoring them. The poster had pictures and names of four Indigenous women who had been murdered.

Ignacio High School Girls Basketball Team

At Ignacio High School, the Bobcats basketball team participated in team photos that honored missing and murdered Indigenous women. In the team photos, each team member and the coach wore a red or a black handprint to show solidarity to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement.

Ilona Verley and ''Canada’s Drag Race''

In the first season of '' Canada's Drag Race'', the contestant Ilona Verley, who is from the

Nlaka'pamux The Nlaka'pamux or Nlakapamuk ( ; ), also previously known as the ''Thompson'', ''Thompson River Salish'', ''Thompson Salish'', ''Thompson River Indians'' or ''Thompson River people'', and historically as the ''Klackarpun'', ''Haukamaugh'', ''Kni ...

Nation in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, was the first contestant to identify as

two-spirit Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ...

and as non-binary. For her final presence on ''Canada’s Drag Race'', Verley wore a traditional

jingle dress Jingle dress is a First Nations and Native American women's pow wow regalia and dance. North Central College associate professor Matthew Krystal notes, in his book, ''Indigenous Dance and Dancing Indian: Contested Representation in the Global Era' ...

to represent her two-spirit identity and the red handprint to create further awareness towards the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Verley was also featured in the

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

article ''Indigenous Queen Ilona Verley On Bringing Two-Spirit Representation to Canada’s Drag Race'' in which she described her experience on ''Canada’s Drag Race'', discussed the lingering impacts of the

residential school system In Canada, the Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by Christian churches. The school sys ...

, and explained how she wanted to use her new platform to "spread awareness about her roots." She has subsequently used the symbol in social media posts.

Billboard campaigns

The Native Justice Coalition created a billboard campaign towards the awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women and Two-spirit people in

Grand Haven, Michigan Grand Haven is a city within the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Ottawa County. Grand Haven is located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Grand River, for which it is named. As of the 2010 census, Grand Ha ...

. The billboards consist of an Indigenous woman with a red handprint across their mouth. The billboard was created by Cecilia Lapointe of the Native Justice Coalition.

References

{{Authority control Violence against Indigenous women in Canada Violence against Indigenous women in the United States Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls movement Political symbols