An outdoor exhibit of red dresses was recently displayed by the Clayton University Center flagpole to honor and bring awareness to the millions of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people.
The REDress exhibit was hosted on Thursday by the Gender, Leadership and Empowerment Center in partnership with the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. Attendees were able to view the dresses and receive a piece of jewelry made using traditional Indigenous seed beadwork and crafting techniques.
Izzy Canadine ‘27, a member of Kappa Alpha Theta and an advocate for Indigenous education on Lehigh’s campus, organized the event in collaboration with the Institute for Indigenous Studies within the College of Health.
She said the REDress Project uses red dresses symbolically, as the color holds significant spiritual meaning in some Indigenous cultures which believe the color can call to spirits of the dead.
She also said the four dresses that were on exhibition represented a story of murdered or missing Indigenous peoples.
Carly Dickerson, the associate director of the Gender, Leadership and Empowerment Center, organized the event in collaboration with Canadine.
Dickerson said the REDress Project is part of the broader Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women movement, which spreads awareness about women, children and Two-Spirit people who were murdered or kidnapped — many of whose families often never receive justice or closure.
According to the Urban Indian Health Institute, Native American women make up a significant portion of overall missing and murdered cases, with rates of violence being up to 10 times higher than the national average. This particularly affects those living on reservations, and murder is the third leading cause of death for Native American women.
Dickerson said the REDress Project has been held at Lehigh for several years and has been hosted by rotating departments on campus, including the Pride Center and the Gender, Leadership and Empowerment Center.
She said the first ever Red Dress Day was held on May 5, 2010, inspired by the work of Jaime Black, a Canadian Métis artist and activist.
Dickerson said she hopes to see more visibility for Indigenous issues throughout the year, not just during National Native American Heritage Month in November or on Red Dress Day.
“I think highlighting missing and murdered women and Two-Spirit individuals is really important,” Dickerson said. “It’s also our center’s approach to talk about the resilience of these groups and the positive things that are happening in Indigenous communities in North America. Violence is not their whole story.”
Dickerson said the Gender, Leadership and Empowerment Center also hopes to host more Indigenous-centered events throughout the upcoming semester.
She said students should support Indigenous communities in meaningful ways, such as by purchasing from Indigenous creators or taking the time to learn about their significance and history.
Although this is Kappa Alpha Theta’s first time hosting the Red Dress Project, Canadine said the sorority hopes to make it an annual tradition and potentially expand it across campus.
Asha Patel ‘27, the vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion for Kappa Alpha Theta, said the sorority hopes to spread more awareness for the cause, as it’s not something that’s widely talked about.
She said the sorority hosted a sisterhood event for the members to learn and talk about the REDress Project, along with jewelry making for event attendees.
“Theta made all the pieces of jewelry, and some of us even learned how to make traditional woven pieces,” Patel said. “We all had a lot of fun.”
Canadine was recently the first Lehigh student accredited to attend the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. With Indigenous roots from the Seldovia Village Tribe in Alaska, she said she strongly believes the lack of Indigenous education and knowledge is a problem on college campuses.
“I just want people to learn and understand Indigenous culture,” she said. “People are always welcome to learn, that’s the thing. This land is all of ours.”
She said Lehigh can provide students with a broader Indigenous education by offering more Indigenous-based courses and hiring Indigenous faculty to teach the courses.
More information about the REDress Project can be found on Black’s website.
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