We Will Not Be Silenced
Standing for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
This exhibit, officially opening November 16, brings voice to the international Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement through sculpture and photography from local and national Native American artists. Photos are from the lenses of Dylan Rose of the local Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Ashley Evans of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.
The photographed women gathered at Kituwah Mound, the site of an important Cherokee Mother Town near Bryson City, and the project was organized by Sky Sampson, director of the WCU Cherokee Center.
“I’ve always been a big fan of capturing photos to express what’s going on in my life,” Rose states. “As a photographer, I constantly try to find ways to capture my audience from first glance. The aesthetics are peculiar in capturing movements, and you really have to create that space for them.
by Dylan Rose
“I wanted to capture an authentic theme to display the Missing Murdered Indigenous Women’s movement, yet mixed with a modern feel.”
Rose reveals, “I experience true generational trauma, as my family has been directly affected by this ongoing movement. My grandmother, Dora Owl, was wrongfully murdered, and that pain can still be felt today throughout my family. I want my images surrounding this topic to influence the voices of our sisters and mothers — to give them a voice where they have been silenced for so long.”
Running through Dec. 9 with an opening reception on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 5-7pm, Western Carolina University, Bardo Arts Center, 199 Centennial Drive, Cullowhee, wcu.edu/bardo-arts-center.