D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai made a strong political statement at the 2024 Emmys. On Sunday night in Los Angeles, the actor walked the red carpet at the award show with a red handprint painted over his mouth, a symbol of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement. He wore an Emporio Armani tuxedo with Thundercloud jewelry. According to a 2019 report from the Department of Justice, on some reservations, women are 10 times more likely to be murdered than the national average—a stark comparison.
The handprint “stands for all the missing sisters whose voices are not heard. It stands for the silence of the media and law enforcement in the midst of this crisis,” according to Native Hope, an organization that addresses injustice in Native communities. The site continues: “It stands for the oppression and subjugation of Native women who are now rising up to say #NoMoreStolenSisters.”
At the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards, Woon-A-Tai—who identifies as Oji-Cree First Nations and Guyanese—was nominated for playing Bear Smallhill on the FX on Hulu comedy-drama Reservation Dogs. “I think we’re pushing to a time when we don’t need anybody to tell our story for us,” he told Elle this spring. “If you want to make a story regarding Native people, it should definitely be mandatory, in my opinion, to have a Native director, Native writer, and Native casting director.”
