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Reservation Dogs star D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai made history with his nomination for outstanding actor in a comedy series at tonight’s 2024 Emmy Awards, becoming the first Indigenous actor ever to be recognized in the ceremony’s leading acting category. It was a powerful milestone—and Woon-A-Tai was sure to bring an equally powerful statement to the red carpet before the ceremony. He walked the the step-and-repeat in a classic Armani suit, with jewelry by Indigenous designer Lionel Thundercloud—but it was the red handprint painted onto his face that was the true focal point.
The meaning of the red handprint, Woon-A-Tai’s stylist Avo Yermagyan confirms to Vogue, was to draw attention to the nationwide scourge of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW). “The restrained styling puts the focus on the red palm print, hand-painted by groomer Martha Phelan,” Yermagyan tells Vogue. The symbol—and, more generally, the color red—has become a popular symbol for the growing MMIW epidemic, as Indigenous women continue to be disproportionally affected by violence across North America. A 2016 study by the National Institute of Justice found that more than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native women have faced violence in their lifetime; and according to a more recent study from the Urban Indian Health Institute, homicide is the third-leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women aged 10 to 24.
The actor’s red handprint was achieving using products from Cheekbone Beauty, an Indigenous-owned beauty brand. Within the Indigenous community, wearing red—and having handprints painted onto one’s face, as Woon-A-Tai opted to do tonight—has turned into a symbol and a reminder of the Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit individuals whose lives have been lost to violence. Many contemporary Indigenous designers—and artists such as Jaime Black, who launched the REDress Project in 2010—have also used red in their work to draw awareness to the ongoing issue. (Many cases of murdered or missing Indigenous women remain unsolved, as highlighted in a recent Showtime documentary titled Murder In Big Horn.)
And Woon-A-Tai isn’t the only actor to surface the issue on a major stage: Native-Hawaiian star Auli’i Cravalho made a similar display last year, at the premiere of The Power in New York City, when she also painted her face with a red handprint. It’s commendable that Young Hollywood continues to use their platform for good, and the latest spotlight from Woon-A-Tai proved to be one of the more impactful moments of Emmys night. While preparing for the carpet, Yermagyan adds that the star played the song “Thank Heaven I’m an Indian Boy” by Northern Cree.
This article was originally published on Vogue.com.
