SPOKANE, Wash. — The Kalispel Tribe paid tribute to dozens of missing Indigenous people in Washington on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s Day with a powerful display of red dresses at Northern Quest Casino.
Each red dress represented one of the 56 Indigenous women currently missing in Washington State, with half of these cases originating in Eastern Washington.
“It’s hard to find our missing brothers and sisters,” said Tarah Pagaling, a human trafficking advocate with the Kalispel Tribe.
The tribe’s Victims Assistance Services Department organized the event to raise awareness and provide resources. Information booths connected community members with victim advocates and support services.
“A lot of us as natives have experienced it and know what we’re talking about and just think of our relatives and sisters, aunties, mothers that have gone missing,” said Thea George-Garcia, Cultural Project Supervisor at Northern Quest Casino.
Pagaling explained the tribe’s services: “We help victims of all crimes. The majority of crimes we see are domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking. But we help everybody, they don’t have to be native.”
The tribe has established strong relationships with local law enforcement agencies and district attorneys to help investigate and prosecute cases of human trafficking.
The red dress display served as both a memorial and a call to action, representing the ongoing work to address the disproportionately high rates of violence against Indigenous women and girls in Washington.
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