DENVER — On May 5 every year, people display red dresses on hangers without women to wear them - a visual reminder of the thousands of missing Indigenous people in the United States.
May 5 is National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people -- two-spirit people in the Native community who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community.
The first Red Dress Day was observed in 2010. It began after artist Jaime Black launched her REDress art installation. Since then, the dresses have come to symbolize the thousands of people who are impacted by violence and as a result, are missing or have been murdered.
Statistics show that Indigenous women face disproportionate violence compared to their white counterparts. More than four out of five have experienced violence and over half have been physically abused by their intimate partners, according to the National Criminal Justice Training Center.
Murder is the third leading cause of death for Indigenous women.
To honor and raise awareness, the Denver Indian Center held an event on Friday ahead of Red Dress Day. The community made more than 250 red ribbons for Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
"It was brought about because of the epidemic that we have of missing and murdered Indigenous women and we have, right now, 400,200 unsolved cases within the United States of unsolved women being murdered or missing in general. That’s from reservations and in urban areas as well," said David Wright, Grants Manager and Honoring Fatherhood Alumni Program Director at the Denver Indian Center. "There's an epidemic, but I also think there is a need for attention to it."
The ribbons will be on display during the entire month of May in front of the organization's building.
"It’s incredibly painful when you see a family going through the struggles that they are going through," Wright said. "I think it’s important for us to have that conversation, to say, 'What am I doing to help improve that situation?'"
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