"No More Stolen Sisters" Comes to UNH Library

Artist: Jenny Tibbits
Dates: November 1 - December 22
Location: Dimond Library

A dozen red dresses hang along the pale green walls of Dimond Library’s Milne Room, a striking flash of color that catches the gaze of those passing by outside. More dresses are draped on mannequins in each corner of the room, one just the size of a child. The presence of these dresses, absent anyone to wear them, gestures to a larger absence. They are part of an exhibit, “No More Stolen Sisters,” which highlights an ongoing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. 
 
The exhibit was created by Indigenous New Hampshire artist Jenny Tibbits and inspired by the work of Jaime Black, who started the REDress project in 2010. The work of Tibbits and Black, and the larger MMIWG movement, draws attention to the disproportionate rates of violence experienced by Indigenous women and girls. “On some reservations, the murder rate for Native women is more than 10 times the national average,” says Tibbits. “These tragedies are not isolated; they are often tied to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, sex trafficking, and longstanding harms that continue to impact Indigenous communities.”

“No More Stolen Sisters” is sponsored by UNH’s Office of Community, Civil Rights and Compliance (OC3). “We are excited to bring ‘No More Stolen Sisters’ to the University of New Hampshire, Durham campus,” say OC3 Assistant Director Ramonda Kindle and Administrative Associate Amanda Harvey. “This exhibit sheds light on such a profoundly important topic in the United States and gives a voice to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG). We hope UNH and local communities can stop by Dimond Library and witness Jenny’s storytelling and artistry.”
 
The exhibit extends from the Milne Room, just off the library’s main entrance, to the far end of the stacks on Levels 4 and 5, with more dresses hanging along a gallery wall and in former newspaper racks on Level 2. The extensive nature of the exhibit speaks not only to the overwhelming numbers of those missing and murdered - 5,712 in 2016, according to the National Crime Information Center - but to the widespread pain felt by their families and communities.  
 
“Bringing awareness to violence against Native American women and girls is an important act of remembrance that affirms the right to personal and community safety,” says Associate Vice President for Community, Civil Rights and Compliance Dr. Nadine Petty, Office of the President. “I am excited that we are able to bring ‘No More Stolen Sisters’ to campus and it is my hope that the installation confronts apathy and prompts reflection, accountability, and productive action.”
 
The UNH Library and its exhibits are open to all.