AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. — In an effort to help raise awareness of the 134 Indigenous persons missing in Washington state, including 72 Indigenous women, the Kalispel Tribe of Indians will host a short ceremony to pay tribute to them.
The ceremony includes a Red Dress Dance and honor song performance and is scheduled for 11 a.m. on May 1, 2023. The tribute will take place in the southeast entrance of the Northern Quest Resort Casino & Resort near Windfall.
According to the tribe, the red dresses displayed will hang empty, symbolizing the missing women who should be wearing them. One of the 72 dresses is a custom-made Native American jingle dress crafted by a Kalispel Tribe member.
In addition, as part of recognizing Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women's Day on May 5, the tribe's charitable fund will be matching any donations made to the Spokane Regional Domestic Violence Coalition between May 1 and May 31 up to $5,000.
"In many tribal cultures, red is a color that transcends the physical world and calls to the ancestors in the spiritual world," the tribe said in a press release. "With this installation, the Kalispel Tribe and Northern Quest bring attention to our missing mothers, sisters, and daughters, in an effort to help break the silence around this horrible epidemic."
“We are proud to work with our local community to raise awareness about the plight of murdered and missing Indigenous people in Washington state and around the country,” says Northern Quest General Manager and Kalispel Tribal Council Member Nick Pierre. “These men and women are valued and missed. Many of our Team Members will be wearing red handprint T-shirts around the resort from May 1 to 15, as a symbolic representation of those who have been silenced. We want to do our part to ensure the violence and silence end, and hope for the future is restored.”
The performance will be open to the public, according to the tribe.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.
