A Special Culture Night at the Old Church

May 5th has been declared Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s Awareness Day by the City of Portland. Please join us for a special Culture Night as we honor, remember and raise awareness for our Missing and Murdered Indigenous/Native Women and Girls. #MMIWPDX.

Hear from family members and survivors, NAYA Family Center, Native Wellness Institute, Portland Human Rights Commission, City of Portland and Multnomah County. Portland Mayor Wheeler will be in attendance.

• Doors Open – 5:00 pm
• Dinner – 5:30 pm
• Program – 7:00 – 8:30 pm
• School-age children’s activities will be provided

Portland, Oregon is the first city in the nation to officially declare Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s Awareness Day (May 5th, 2018).  A week’s worth of community events are scheduled throughout Portland as part of a movement to create awareness of this crisis and to inspire communities to take action.

There are many ways you can support!

• PLEASE, join us, participate, tell your families and friends to support this very important movement
• Attend Saturday’s event here at NAYA with Senator Wyden and thank him personally for cosponsoring the resolution to mark May 5 as National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls
• Wear a red ribbon skirt or dress, red dress, or recognize community members who have been making red ribbon skirts for a couple of months, now, in order to wear to raise awareness.
• Take a photo or selfie of yourself or someone you know wearing red and post to social media with the hashtag #MMIWPDX

Lasting impacts of colonialism including racism, sexism and oppression, have all contributed to missing and murdered Indigenous women. Further, the U.S. Justice Department has never prioritized crime committed in Indian Country, in spite of major changes to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) that finally included protections for Native women on tribal lands. The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement was born to bring awareness of this issue to the forefront to help prevent another missing or murdered Indigenous woman. Portland, Oregon, an I-5 corridor hot spot for human trafficking and a historical and contemporary gathering place for tribal people, is stepping up to Honor, Help and Heal our community members affected by this movement. 

Link to the proclamation:  http://efiles.portlandoregon.gov/Record/11791130/