SEASIDE >> Bringing awareness to violence against Indigenous people, a local organization will focus on prevention, healing and remembrance, during this year’s Red Dress Day.

On May 3, the public is invited to participate in the event at the Oldemeyer Center, 986 Hilby Ave., Seaside from 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. The Red Dress Day annual commemorative effort will be utilizing traditional holistic Native-Indigenous ways of mediation, reconciliation and achieving well-being, according to the host Supporting Indigenous Communities Group. The holistic program will be presented by nationally renowned teachers and counselors from the Bakersfield American Indian Health Project, according to organizers. Additional activities include a Native-Indigenous memorial ceremony, speakers, traditional storytellers, drummers, dancers, and a Red Dress Art Exhibit.

One in three Native women is sexually assaulted during her life and non-Natives perpetrate 67% of these assaults, according to the Supporting Indigenous Communities Group. An FBI report — Violence Against American Indian or Alaska Native Females, 2021-2023 — provides the most recent data about the missing and murdered Indigenous people crisis. Based on 35,000 incidents of violent and sexual crimes against Native American women, the report finds that adults are most often victims of violence, while juveniles make up most victims of sexual offenses. Family members of missing and murdered Indigenous people have brought national attention to the disproportionate rates of violence against Native women and the over 5,000 currently still unsolved cases.

“I am grateful that with this Red Dress Day event, we join nationwide and statewide efforts to increase awareness and transparency around this issue of urgent concern,” said Mary Ann Carbone, Sand City mayor and a member of the Chumash people, in a press release. “At the same time, we will celebrate the accomplishments of Indigenous women and people through our cultural traditions — the sacred drum, singers, dancers and storytellers.”

Inspired by the REDress Project in 2010 by the mixed-ancestry Métis artist Jamie Black, Red Dress Day is internationally observed as a commemorative event that honors and brings awareness to the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women. The day serves as a solemn reminder of the disproportionate violence faced by Indigenous communities and calls for justice and systemic change. The color red was chosen based on the belief that it is the only color spirits can see, serving as a powerful visual representation to call back the spirits of the lost.

Factors that contribute to the crisis, according to the Associated Press, include the hindrance of investigations due to complex legal frameworks between federal, state and tribal authorities, as well as historical and ongoing biases that affect the attention and resources allocated to Indigenous cases, and inadequate data collection and reporting mechanisms which impede understanding and response efforts, according to AP News.

In January 2023, California’s Feather Alert became effective and is a statewide emergency notification system designed to assist in locating missing Indigenous people, particularly women and girls, who are disproportionately affected by violence and disappearances.

Modeled after systems like the AMBER and Silver Alerts, the Feather Alert aims to rapidly disseminate information to the public to aid in the swift recovery of missing Indigenous individuals.

The system is managed by the California Highway Patrol, which coordinates with local and tribal law enforcement agencies to issue alerts when an Indigenous person goes missing under suspicious or unexplained circumstances.