We Ride For Her

83% of American Indian Alaska Natives experience violence in their lifetime while 80% of sexual violence is perpetrated by non-Indigenous people. The vast majority of women and children who have endured this never see their abusers brought to justice. In this film we follow an Indigenous women’s motorcycle group shedding light on the US’ history of genocide and systemic oppression of Indigenous people and the continued dark reality of violence against, and consistent devaluation of, Indigenous Women and Relatives. ‘We Ride for Her’ was conceptualized, supported, and produced by @redsandproject , a participatory artwork raising awareness about human trafficking. Since its inception in 2014, Red Sand Project has been committed to telling the stories of those who have been trafficked, exploited, or made vulnerable. Watch the film in the link in our bio and take action. #WeRideforHer #RedSandProject #MMIWR #IndigenousPeoplesDay

WE RIDE FOR HER is a community-owned, short documentary film following an Indigenous women’s motorcycle group as they ride to end the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and relatives (MMIW/G/R), while a member of their community desperately searches for her missing sister and tries to heal her shattered family. Follow along with us here and at @redsandproject as we join the Medicine Wheel Riders on their annual journey from Arizona to Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Over the course of 10 days, we will ride through 5 states and cover 1,500 miles, while reflecting on the need for reform and repair and amplifying local calls to action. In select stakeholder gatherings from July 28–August 6, community-owners of the film will view WE RIDE FOR HER as a way of redefining community ownership; providing each stakeholder with the agency to determine how the film can support their own reclamation of narrative. Our goal is to create spaces for freedom, sisterhood, celebration, connection, and community-building; ensure that we build on existing practices, tools, and blueprints for healing and resilience, which are made stronger by our visit; and build engagement beyond our visit and into non-Indigenous communities. The issue of MMIW/G/R remains largely under the general public radar. The epidemic has deep roots in white settler genocidal oppression, typified by encroachment on tribal sovereignty, a history of violence and devaluation of Native life, and a justice system that was never established to protect Indigenous people. Murder is the 3rd leading cause of death for native women, and the majority of these murders are committed by non-Native people on Native-owned land. Learn more at werideforher.com (link in bio). #MMIW #MMIR #missingandmurderedindigenouswomen #medicinewheelriders #nomorestolensisters

We are thrilled to be having our world premiere at @sxsw in March! Stay tuned for more info 👀 See you there!

𝘞𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵. 𝘞𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨.    🔻In 2016, more than 5,700 Indigenous women and girls were reported missing in the United States.   🔻Indigenous women and girls face disproportionately higher rates of violence than women in non-Indigenous communities.  🔻Native women face murder rates up to ten times the national average.  🔻Murder is the third leading cause of death for Native women.    During this national week of action, we honor Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit people (#MMIWG2S) and the individuals, families, and communities impacted by this ongoing crisis.    𝘞𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘏𝘦𝘳 follows the @medicinewheelride , who ride to honor their missing loved ones and demand justice.    It's a communal act of remembrance and resistance. ❤️    Watch our short, community-owned documentary film at the link in our bio. 👆

The truth about MMIW/R/P should never be erased.    When the @thejusticedept removed the #NotOneMore Report from its website, existing vulnerabilities deepened for Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people.    We are here to witness, to remember, and to keep the truth in plain sight.    Restore the report. Watch @werideforher . Take action at the link in our bio.

This October and November we are raising funds for Medicine Wheel Ride @medicinewheelride - an amazing group of motorcyclists who spread awareness about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIW/R), as well as raise & distribute money to their families ❤️‍🔥 Watch the short film “We Ride for Her” about them, and read our October newsletter section about their work - links in bio! ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE WITH US: 💌 Follow @redsandproject , @werideforher , and @medicinewheelride here on Instagram 🎞️ Watch “We Ride for Her”, an 18-minute short film about Medicine Wheel Ride 💓 Donate to them directly at MedicineWheelRide.org! The majority of proceeds go directly to families impacted by MMIWG2S. 💃🏽 Donate a red dress in any style or size (including children’s sizes) to Thrift2Fight to be used in the We Ride for Her Red Dress Exhibition - read more about it at the link in our bio! 🧶 Donate new, pre-loved, or handmade red shawls of any size and style to Thrift 2 Fight, which we will mail to Medicine Wheel Ride. When the riders visit families who have lost loved ones to MMIWG2S, they wrap them in red shawls. ⛽️ Get gift gas cards to national gas chains & mail them directly to MRW, or bring them to Thrift 2 Fight and we will mail them. The riders spend countless hours, days, and weeks on the road heading to searches for missing relatives, attending and leading funerals of murdered relatives, and visiting impacted families. 🛍️ If you’re a thrift store owner: this Fall, consider putting out a call for red dresses of all sizes, including a link to the 18-minute film, or encouraging your customers to donate to the Medicine Wheel Ride. We can make our impact bigger together! Reach out to us with any questions and ideas ❤️‍ ❤️‍🔥 10% of every one of your purchases at Thrift 2 Fight in October & November will go to them. When you need clothes, choose to shop sustainably and support immigrant rights with your resources.

The Medicine Wheel Riders will soon embark on their annual prayer ride from one of the four directions to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. This year’s ride will begin on July 25 at the coast in Seattle, Washington and will end in the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota.         The riders will roll through and visit several tribal homelands. With them, they will carry the names and stories of their missing and murdered relatives, as well as prayers for justice and healing.         On August 3, the riders will welcome anyone and everyone to join them in their final leg of the journey from Bear Butte State Park and on to Sturgis as they spread the word about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Relatives.        Every mile of their ride is a call for awareness and reclamation. Every stop is a moment to gather, remember, and uplift. It’s a ceremony on wheels. It’s a powerful act of visibility and connection. ❤️        We can’t let this issue, the victims, and their families fall through the cracks. #MMIW #MMIR #MMIP #MMIWG2S     🏍️ Visit the link in our bio to REGISTER for the ride on August 3.      🫶 Visit @medicinewheelride to DONATE to and FOLLOW ALONG with their journey. All proceeds go directly to families impacted by MMIW/G/R.       🎥 Visit the link in our bio to WATCH our short documentary film 𝘞𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘏𝘦𝘳.         📸 by @treentreen333 and @cassandragiraldo

The crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIW/R) is not only a national emergency, it is a deeply personal and ongoing grief that touches nearly every Indigenous family and community. Addressing this crisis cannot be done in isolation or solely through institutional reform. It requires us to build and sustain community—spaces of trust, solidarity, care, and collective action.⁣ ⁣ ✊ In solidarity with the awareness day for MMIW/R earlier this week, we invite and encourage you to watch our community-owned short documentary film 𝘞𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘏𝘦𝘳. Share it with your friends, with your families, and in your communities. Ask questions. Listen deeply. Have conversations. Take action, together. ⁣ 🗣️ “𝘞𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘏𝘦𝘳 was created as a tool for awareness, but more than that, it is a point of entry, a place where individuals, organizations, and communities can begin or deepen their understanding of this crisis and how they can meaningfully respond. This film invites audiences to witness the strength and resilience of Indigenous women and relatives who ride not for spectacle, but for survival, justice, and remembrance.” -Prairie Rose Seminole, Co-Director⁣ @msprairierose ⁣ 💻📱📺 Watch the film for FREE on WaterBear! #LinkinBio

This week, New Mexico’s Governor signed legislation for a Turquoise Alert, an alert system for missing Indigenous Americans. ⁣ ⁣ The legislation passed unanimously, representing the deepening need for attention to the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives. ⁣ ⁣ The system will function similarly to Amber and Silver Alerts. Notifications will be issued to area cellphones when law enforcement finds evidence of imminent danger in the disappearance of an Indigenous American. ⁣ ⁣ From The @guardian : ⁣ “Indigenous American and Alaska Native communities experience rates of murder, rape and violent crime all above the national average. A 2016 study by the National Institute of Justice found that four in five American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime, including more than half who have experienced sexual violence.⁣ ⁣ But less than half of violent crimes against women are ever reported to police. In 2016, there were 5,712 reports of missing Native American women and girls to the US Department of Justice, but only 116 of those cases were logged in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.⁣ ⁣ According to the New Mexico department of justice, there are approximately 200 missing Indigenous people in the state, on average of more than 1,600 days missing.”⁣ ⁣ New Mexico is home to 23 federally recognized tribes, one of the largest Indigenous American populations per capita of any state. ⁣ ⁣ The Turquoise Alert system takes its name from the blue-green mineral and sacred stone popular in Diné jewelry.⁣ ⁣ Read more at the link in our bio and urge your state lawmakers to create similar alert systems to protect Indigenous relatives and neighbors! 📢📝☎️💻🗣️

We need your help! 🤝⁣🫂❤️ ⁣ Red Sand Project is collecting new and preloved red dresses of all sizes and styles to represent the thousands of Indigenous women and relatives who go missing, are trafficked, or are murdered each year in the United States.⁣ ⁣ The dresses will be a part of our traveling Red Dress Exhibition and shared in conjunction with the short documentary film @werideforher , which follows the incredible women of the @medicinewheelride . ⁣ Send us a red dress and we’ll send a #RedSandProject t-shirt or hoodie to you in return! Please also include any notes of remembrance for missing or murdered Indigenous relatives, and we will include them in the exhibition. ⁣ ⁣ If shipping costs are a concern, we have you covered. Please don’t hesitate to let us know. ⁣ ⁣ DM or email us at [email protected] for our mailing address. 💌⁣ ⁣ 💡Our inspiration: Canadian Red River Métis artist Jaime Black created the REDress Project, which focuses on the issue of missing or murdered Aboriginal women across Canada. Countless iterations of Jaime’s project have been installed in public spaces throughout Canada and the United States as a visual reminder of the staggering number of women and relatives who are no longer with us because of this epidemic of violence.

“We Ride For Her” - a powerful documentary following indigenous women motorcyclists on a mission to honor and remember Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). The documentary was produced by @redsandproject and tells the experiences of @medicinewheelride , an indigenous women motorcyclist group whose mission is to honor and remember MMIW. On Wednesday, January 15 at @hardrockholly , will host a private screening of short film “We Ride For Her” followed by a panel discussing the connection between human trafficking and MMIW.#MMIW #EndViolenceAgainstWomen #IndigenousWomen #WeRideForHer

On November 20th at 7pm, join us for a free community screening of WE RIDE FOR HER. We Ride for Her @werideforher is a documentary short film that sheds light on the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women and relatives. Directed by Katrina Sorrentino and Prairie Rose Seminole (Arikara/Sahnish, Northern Cheyenne) and produced by Red Sand Project, We Ride for Her follows an Indigenous women’s motorcycle group that rides to end the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives. A discussion with the filmmakers and members of the @medicinewheelride will follow the screening. The event is free and open to Bard students and the broader community. ✏️Registration is required via the link in our bio to guarantee a seat.✏️ This event is co-sponsored by the Dutchess County Commision for Human Rights, Rethinking Place: Bard-on-Mahicantuck, and Red Sand Project.