Reservation Dogs star D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai has made a powerful statement at the 2024 Emmy Awards.
When the actor made his red carpet debut at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards, which took place last September 15 in Los Angeles, California, he made a big statement wearing an all -black suit and a red handprint painted over his mouth.
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The Native Hope website states that the symbolic print stands for a message of support for Indigenous women who have been murdered and have gone missing. The painted hand “stands for all the missing sisters whose voices are not heard. It stands for the silence of the media and law enforcement in the midst of this crisis. It stands for the oppression and subjugation of Native women who are now rising up to say #NoMoreStolenSister,” according to the non-profit organization’s website.
With a 2019 Justice Department report finding that women on reservations are 10 times more likely to be murdered than the national average, the organization was founded to combat the widespread inequalities that exist in Indigenous communities.
Woon-A-Tai, an Oji-Cree First Nations and Guyanese actor, was nominated for his first Emmy for his performance as Bear Smallhill in Reservation Dogs, the critically praised comedy-drama that ended after four seasons.
The FX comedy centers on a group of Indigenous teens from Oklahoma who want to travel to California and would do anything to earn their money, even if it means they have to steal it.
Woon-A-Tai recalled in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter how he connected with his character during his first audition.
“The writers room was all Indigenous, and they knew that they wanted to tell their stories, and in telling their own stories, they told the stories of a lot of other Native kids out there as well, me being one of them,” he stated. “I related to Bear right off the bat, and I see a lot of similarities within myself, within my cousins and my nephews, and with family and friends.”
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