More than 9,500 Indigenous people were reported missing nationwide in 2021, according to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center. The plight of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls led to a national inquiry in Canada and official acknowledgement of “race-based genocide” against Indigenous people there.

As an act of remembrance and healing, Massachusetts-based Indigenous artist and domestic violence survivor Nayana LaFond created “Portraits in Red,” an ongoing series of more than 100 portraits she has painted of missing and murdered Indigenous people and their loved ones. A red handprint is usually painted on the mouth of each black and white portrait, a symbol that represents the silencing of these Indigenous victims of violence. Forty of those portraits are currently on display at the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center in Newport, including one of Anthony Tolentino, a 17 year-old member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians who was murdered in Salem in 2021. OregonArts Watch previously wrote about the origins of the “Portraits in Red: Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Painting Project” and the exhibit in Newport, which ends on May 4.

LaFond and Anthony’s mother, Cecilia Tolentino, join us to talk about “Portraits in Red” and the impact they hope the project will have.