MMIWG

Gamma Delta Pi Raises Awareness for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women

Althea Henderson, Red Council Chair of Gamma Delta Pi and elementary education junior, spent the first half of Native American Heritage Month working with her sorority to advocate for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). Althea and her sorority sisters organized MMIWG Week, a five-day event that took place across campus, to help raise awareness of the violence experienced by Indigenous women.

Awareness events included corn husk doll making, a movie night, a documentary and discussion, the call to wear red all week, and a Red Dress Demonstration—a practice that memorializes, grieves, and honors murdered and missing indigenous women by displaying red dresses.

Q: Why did you join OU’s first Native American sorority, Gamma Delta Pi (GDP)?

Althea: I decided to join GDP because my older sister was a member while in college and I realized it was a great organization for Native women. Our organization is passionate about empowering Indigenous women and uplifting their voices in predominately white spaces. We focus heavily on seeking justice and reconciliation for Native women that have experienced violence—that’s why we put a great emphasis on our philanthropy with the Native Alliance Against Violence (NAAV).

Q: How did MMIWG Awareness Week begin and how do you spread awareness around campus?

Althea: MMIWG Awareness Week was started in 2018 by a former sister in my position, Natha Little Crow. We participate in many events that educate our Native and non-Native peers about the very real issues that Indian Country faces—one of the most pressing being the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls epidemic in the United States and Canada.

Q: How did your sorority prepare for the week?

Althea: We started by seeking out speakers, films, and documentaries to feature that will help inform people who attend our events. For myself, there were many emotions that I had to work through. It was a very reflective time leading up to and during the week. My sorority sisters and I agree that the subject of missing and murdered Indigenous women never gets easier to hear or talk about, but it’s still important to raise awareness and advocate as often as possible.

Q: Why is it important to raise awareness to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls?

Althea: There is an entire community that is being silenced. Without help, this community will eventually disappear. If we do not do something about the crisis Native women face, we will lose our matriarchs and our ways of life. I hope to continue raising awareness by creating more events and collaborating with more organizations, both Native and non-Native, to bring attention to this epidemic on a larger scale.

Q: How can the OU community help empower and keep Indigenous women safe on campus?

Althea: By educating those in power and those in security or law enforcement positions on campus about MMIW and the policies that impact it. The first step to remedying the MMIW crisis is being in the know. When a Native woman needs help, she needs to know that the person helping also understands her trauma of being a Native woman in a white world.