Brought to Light

The Epidemic of Violence Against Indigenous Women

by Sonya Kelliher-Combs

The statistics are deafening.  As compared to any other group, Indigenous women in the United States are more than twice as likely to experience violence; 84% of Indigenous women have experienced violence in their lifetime; and, in 2016 alone, there were 5,712 known incidences of murdered or missing Indigenous women.  Canada has categorized this human rights crisis as genocide and has undergone a national inquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls.  

K Art’s exhibition Brought to Light: The Epidemic of Violence Against Indigenous Women showcased the work of four Indigenous artists: Natalie Ball; Luzene Hill; Sonya Kelliher-Combs; and Julia Rose Southerland.  In different ways, their works address the trauma and violence resulting from systemic racism, sexism, and the ingrained history of colonialism in North America.  These artists seek to bring an epidemic out of the shadows and into mainstream consciousness; and, in doing so, create new spaces of discourse and understanding about indigeneity.  Ultimately, they demand change.