Airway Heights, WA (May 2, 2025) – The Kalispel Tribe of Indians and Northern Quest Resort & Casino are proud to help raise awareness for the 112 Indigenous people currently missing in Washington state. Of those, 56 are missing Indigenous women. On Monday, May 5, the Kalispel Tribe will pay tribute to the missing with a short ceremony, including Native dancers, singers, and speakers from the Tribe and Kalispel Tribal Victims Assistance Services starting at 1pm in the southeast entrance of the resort (near Windfall), along with a moving display of red dresses that represent the missing women located in Heritage Hallway. As part of recognizing Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s Day on May 5, the Kalispel Tribe Charitable Fund will be matching any donations made to YWCA of Spokane between May 1-31, up to $5,000. Donations can be made at www.ywcaspokane.com.
More than four out of five American Indian and Native Alaskan men and women experience violence in their lifetime. In addition, Native American women are murdered at more than ten times the national average. These Native men and women deserve to have a voice and to have their stories heard.
The red dresses displayed at Northern Quest will hang empty, symbolizing the missing women who should be wearing them and living full and happy lives. Of the 56 dresses, one is a custom-made Native American jingle dress crafted by a Tribal Member.
In many tribal cultures, red is a color that transcends the physical world and calls to the ancestors in the spiritual world. With this annual installation, the Kalispel Tribe and Northern Quest bring attention to our missing mothers, sisters, and daughters, in an effort to help break the silence around this horrible epidemic. Additional displays will help bring awareness to all 112 missing Native American people in the state of Washington, with nearly half of those originating from Eastern Washington.
The ceremony on May 5 is open to the public and we encourage all to attend. If you can’t attend, please join us in wearing red to honor the missing.