On a night renowned for its fashion statements, Canadian actor D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai highlighted a pressing humanitarian issue without saying a word.
The Reservation Dogs star arrived at the 2024 Emmy Awards with a red handprint across his mouth in what is being interpreted as a silent statement of solidarity with a movement dedicated to native women across the US and Canada who have been murdered or gone missing.
According to the website of the non-profit Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement, the red hand “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. It stands for the oppression and subjugation of native women who are now rising up to say #NoMoreStolenSisters”.
Woon-A-Tai is of Oji-Cree descent. He is best known for his role as Bear Smallhill in the comedy-drama Reservation Dogs, which centres on four indigenous teenagers in Oklahoma. Woon-A-Tai was nominated for the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role, becoming the first indigenous actor to be nominated in a leading category; he lost out to The Bear's Jeremy Allen White.
Woon-A-Tai continues an effective tradition of using fashion and red carpet events to underscore an event or crisis. At the Oscars earlier this year, several celebrities took to event donning an Artists4Ceasefire pin, calling attention to the continuing conflict in Gaza and advocating for de-escalation and ceasefire.
Earlier this month, stars and guests at the Venice Film Festival showed solidarity with Palestinians on the red carpet. Director Neo Sora was among them, donning a keffiyeh and a tag bearing the words “free Palestine” hanging on his chest.
Australian designer Lewis Beilharz hit the headlines recently when a model waved a Palestinian flag during his New York Fashion Week show. Beilharz’s collection itself served as an ode to Palestine and a comment on the continuing violence in Gaza and the West Bank.
