December 2, 2022
Students share their stories of MMIR at McPherson Chapel. ( Sarah Flower/KSUT)

"The Stories We Wear" exhibit honors Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives at Fort Lewis College

By Sarah Flower

Through hoop skirts and traditional Native regalia, dozens of students at Fort Lewis College created clothing to honor their Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives.

"The Stories We Wear" is an exhibition that the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College has created for students to honor Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives.

In total, 31 students helped create these pieces. Lauryn Baldwin is from the Inupiaq tribe in Northwest Alaska and a senior at the college. Baldwin has recently lost relatives to this violence. She chose to use images of her loved ones that were sewn on a pocket of traditional Native regalia. Baldwin said some of her peers didn’t want to contribute for fear of overshadowing other people's experiences.

McPherson Chapel at Fort Lewis College hosts Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Exhibition “The Stories We Wear” ( Sarah Flower/KSUT)

“People are affected in one way or another, whether they realize it or not. A lot of people that didn't want to maybe, contribute to this piece because they were afraid that they were taking away from others that were maybe affected more, but I mean, everybody knew somebody that went missing.”

The Center of Southwest Studies is looking for more opportunities to display this exhibition.


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