Here's The Powerful Reason D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai Had A Red Handprint On His Mouth During The Emmys

D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai made an important statement at the 2024 Emmy Awards last night.

The 21-year-old Oji-Cree First Nations actor was still a teenager when he was first cast as Bear in the FX series Reservation Dogs . He scored his first Emmy nomination for the show this year, making him the "first Indigenous lead acting nomination in Emmy history," according to Variety .

On the red carpet, D’Pharaoh paired his all-black look with a red handprint across his mouth. As per Native Hope , "A red hand over the mouth has become the symbol of a growing movement, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement. It 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 #NoMoreStolenSisters."

The movement spans across the US and Canada. According to the US Department of the Interior , "Native American and Alaska Native rates of murder, rape, and violent crime are all higher than the national averages. When looking at missing and murdered cases, data shows that Native American and Alaska Native women make up a significant portion of missing and murdered individuals." Despite this, cases of violence against Indigenous women are often under-researched or improperly reported in federal databases.

“I did this for those who ain’t here, not 4 me, not 4 y’all,” D’Pharaoh wrote on Instagram, according to CNN .

You can read more about the MMIW movement here .

Check out all of our Emmys coverage here .