In Focus: ‘Two Spirit and MMIW/R Voices’ Traveling Exhibit Opens in Bemidji

A one-day photo shoot by a group of artists, models, and advocates turned into a traveling art exhibit that was created to get people talking about missing and murdered Indigenous women and relatives and the Two Spirit community. The end result is a collection of photos by Ne-Dah-Ness Rose Greene under the title of ‘Two Spirit and MMIW/R Voices,’ which opened Friday at Mewinzha Ondaaziike Wiigaming, a Native American non-profit in Bemidji.

“These are two entities that are silenced through either violence or oppression, or just kind of dismissed,” said Two Spirit advocate Arnold Dahl-Wooley. “There are certain disparities that we may have. And so it’s like, this is to bring awareness and bring our voices, the Two Spirit, MMIW voices, to bring our voice to the cause. Let’s talk about this culturally. Let’s talk about what we can do. Let’s talk about how we can get involved.”

“We say, you know, if we can be out here doing this, you guys can come out here, too,” added fellow advocate Dwa Brown. “And we would love people to join us. And we as a community need to step up and help take care of each other.”

The exhibit features 24 unique photos, each of which also has an explanation on the deeper meaning behind the picture.

“[It’s about] who we are and what we’re trying to bring forward, or what this may represent,” explained Dahl-Wooley. “We do have a reflection in the middle part of this exhibit for you to take your own personal time, to have a thought, [your] own personal thought, on how we can help the community, how we can help ourselves, and how we can help some help someone else.”

The hope is that the images are meant to have a bigger impact on people than just seeing a person standing in the woods.

“When I was a younger person, I didn’t see anything like this,” Dahl-Wooley said. “I didn’t have the outreach programs that are available today. And even a simple photo would I would have changed the world for me—just to have that inclusion, to understand what that meant culturally, to understand what this meant as a community.”

Every photo contains something symbolic of the Two Spirit and MMIW/R movements in order to start tough conversations.

“It’s important to show that in the pictures because we’re talking about, a picture can say a thousand words,” Dahl-Wooley added. “Like, well, what does this handprint mean? Let’s bring forward the discussion. You know, this is a very powerful thing, so let’s talk about it. So, yes, they are going to be wearing red and they are going to have the red handprints. Because sometimes people’s like, ‘Well, isn’t that a little harsh?’ Like, this is what’s happening. So let’s pay attention to that.”

The pieces will be moving to different places around Bemidji, Cass Lake, Minneapolis, and at other galleries around the state to promote advocacy in as many different places as possible.