Commemoration Project Draft

In July 2020, a report was released in which it documented that 2,306 Native American women and girls went missing in the U.S. within the past 40 years. Even further, roughly 1,800 of those who went missing were killed or completely vanished. The missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) is a transnational (severely affecting the United States and Canada), in which one of the most underserved and marginalized communities, that of the Native American woman, is disproportionally at risk within their own nation. Various organizations have lead marches, trainings, and memorials for these lost individuals over the years, yet this national crisis still goes unnoticed most days.

For my commemoration project, I propose the development of an online space and a mobile memorial that will educate audiences about the ongoing MMIW crisis and provide a space to celebrate the lives of those lost. However, it is not my goal or belief to only highlight the troubles that Native American communities face. The Native American culture revolves around community, and I would like for my project to also develop an environment that celebrates the beauty of the culture through art and education. For someone unaware of the MMIW crisis, it is my goal to give a name and a personality to each and every missing woman, not just a number. In order to do that, I hope to provide a space for people to reflect on the community in which the women were taken from.

Both the physical and technical commemoration spaces will be divided into five sections: A living memorial of those missing, an education center on the crisis itself, a cultural museum that intertwines historical and community contributions, a reflection space for people to share memories and kind messages, and a “call to action” space that educates audience members of the ways they can fight against the MMIW crisis. As this is an ongoing crisis, I am aware of two things. Firstly, this project must be a safe space for the relatives and friends of currently missing women to celebrate the lives of those they lost and remain hopeful. Secondly, this project, as much as I hope it will change in nature and no longer be as necessary in future years, is a moving piece of history, in which viewers need to be aware that the time has not passed. We are witnesses to the marginalization and mistreatment of indigenous people each day, and we cannot continue to be silent about it.

Here is the link to my presentation: https://prezi.com/view/gphBvbfNZut2Pj2rlICE/