She Speaks, a 36 x 48in collage on panel and is intended to spark conversation, awareness and healing for the Indigenous women of the Americas. So, I put her mouth dead center on the panel to symbolize the start of many more conversations.

Every element of the piece is a symbol. But for me the most powerful is the hand written name of just some of the women and girls missing from 2021 that is in the background that stand as a memorial.

My intention is that She Speaks, Silence No More is a apart of the movement for education and healing for all the indigenous peoples of the Americas.   

Here is an explanation of all the symbolism in this piece.

She Speaks- Symbolism

1. The Background-Family and friends gathered to honor those who are missing by handwriting their names on ledger paper form 1907.There are 50 names from 2021 alone. These writings stand in the background as a memorial.
2. Placement- At the heart of healing and education is conversation, so her mouth is dead center on the panel to symbolize the importance of this intention.
3. The Hand over the Mouth represents the silencing of indigenous voices by the government.
4. The Upside-down Flag is a symbol of distress.
5. Long Hair- Hair symbolizes the strength of community: Long hair ties the people to Mother Earth, reflecting Her long grasses. Hair is a connection to all things. It is also a physical manifestation of the growth of the spirit - a highly developed extension of the nervous system, a type of “feeler” which transmits important information and energy to the brain stem, neocortex, and limbic system deep within the brain. The belief has long been held that when one’s hair is cut, they lose a small aspect of their unique relationship with themselves. During the period of forced assimilation of many Native American people in the USA and  Canada in the 1800s, the governments of these countries forced the indigenous people to assimilate, and they removed children to off-reservation boarding schools. There they were forced to abandon their traditional clothing, languages, and their long hair. Cutting the hair stripped the people of their culture and identity, enforcing the dominance of the white government. Even today, some schools and workplaces do not allow long hair on any boys or men as part of their grooming codes – including Native Americans.
6. Her Red Shirt- There is an epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in the indigenous communities. There is a tradition among the tribes to hang a red dress out to, because lost souls only see red. The pattern on her shirt is made up of red dresses as her hand is over her heart calling them home.
7. The Feather is made up of two Ratified treaties: The dark grey on is the first one- Ratified Indian Treaty 1 Five Nations - Fort George, New York, August 14, 1722.  The white stripe in the feather is the Five Nations Deed in Trust from Three of the Five Nations Amending the Treaty Deed of July 19, 1701, Albany New York September 14, 1726.
8. The Textile- There are three symbols in the textile. The first one is called the Kapemni which means twisting. The top inverted triangle represents the stars and the sun. The lower triangle represents the earth. The center represents the connection between the earth and the sun. The Lakota tribe observed the celestial and earthly changes around them and realized the earth mirrors the star world. As above, so below is a phrase this symbol represents. The Lakota tribe made maps of the constellations and maps of the earth. They distinguished valleys, hills, and plains on their maps. They believed that the shape of a star was like an inverted cone and the shape of the earth was a tipi. This symbol is found on their maps. The second one is the 6 stacked triangles representing the 6 directions, not only North, East West and South but above and below or inside and outside. This is a profound spiritual teaching connecting the spirit world and the physical world. Lastly is the Linguistic map of the tribes in North America before colonization.