In the month of May, many red attires — some of them trailing adult-sized dresses, and some frilly dresses for children were dangling from the trees around Ward Lake last month. The frocks were a reminder of the past.They were an actual reminder of the life lost — every being a symbol of Indigenous people who were killed or remain missing.
This is a campaign that has been seen in Canada and in the Lower 48 as well, in order to raise awareness about the large amount of Indigenous girls and womenas well as all Indigenous people who suffer the threat of violence or are missing.
The majority of them vanished before they were scheduled to be removed.
“It’s simply disrespectful,” Michael Toole, Ketchikan Indian Community’s victim assistance program coordinator said to KRBD. “It’s the worst method of denying the real-life experiences of these individuals who have lost relatives and were not able to receive justice.”
Toole stated that he inspected the dresses around the middle of May. The tribe was granted permission for the dress to be hung until the closing in the month. This is according the U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Paul Robbins Jr.
“And there were a few that were weathered. I’m talking about the weather was intermittently mixed with wind and rain — and a few were damaged however none I remember being lacking,” he said.
There were 60 items that were hung in the installation. The time staff returned to take them down this month, around 48 of them had disappeared.
The tribe contacted Alaska State Troopers and the Forest Service, but they weren’t aware of what had transpired with the dresses. Robbins Jr., the spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service, informed KRBD in the last week that the agency did not remove the dresses.
There was a furious outcry via social media. The tribal council of the tribe issued a statement expressing their displeasure at the act as “a rude and hurtful act that undermines efforts to build understanding and increase awareness of the MMIP disease.”
“The disappearance of the dresses also conveys the warning that Indigenous women aren’t considered important,” the statement issued by the tribal council states. “It is an indication of the fact that Indigenous women are usually considered to be disposable and their deaths aren’t taken seriously.”
“The disappearance of these dresses should be a wake-up call for the police to take action,” the statement continued. “We have to join forces to build a world in which Indigenous women are secure and valued.
They urged anyone who has information to call local law enforcement agencies, as well as to contact the tribe in order to find out more about the outbreak.
A few of the dresses have begun to change up over the past couple of days. Photos of swollen, crumpled dresses were posted in social networks.
“[Alot of these dresses were removed and discarded off the trail and buried in a culvert,” Toole said.
Gloria Burns is Ketchikan Indian Community’s vice-president and chair of the social service committee.
“They’ve been discovered in the vicinity of the lake, like back, like they were dumped into the drainage pipe” She said.
Burns stated that the incident caused her to feel a profound emotion of sadness. Burns said it was an “intentional and almost brutal strike.” Burns said that the tribe’s staff hanged the clothes with regret and intent, trying to create what she described as “a secure space.”
“And that’s why when you go through the process of trying to make an environment that is safe, and the space is then intentionally made dangerous, it’s like a repression,” Burns said. “I think that, we all know that the tough part is that there are missing or murdered Indigenous people have occurred since the time of colonization, we don’t really talk about it. There’s been no discussion about these to the outside world.”
The tribal council is encouraging everyone Ketchikan residents to contact the Ketchikan Indian Community as well as to learn more about the current crisis.
Burns is also hoping that the person who took off the clothing talks to someone else, and attempts to comprehend the reasons behind why they did it.
“I wish for someone you know, who experienced a visceral reaction, or wasn’t able to comprehend or realize initially believe that there might be some kind of dialogue, as well as some healing. an alternative way of looking at kindness as a way to take care of one another within our communities,” she said.
KIC the president Norm Skan wrote to KRBD, “this vandalism is disheartening but it won’t hinder us from our mission to find justice for every indigenous woman murdered and disappeared.”
A brief note on the terminology that are used in this story: Michael Toole said there are different terms that can be used to describe disappearing or killed Indigenous people in the community. KRBD has chosen to use the one employed in the statement by KIC personnel in its announcement.
