The Alaska Native Arts Foundation is pleased to support an upcoming workshop led by Mellisa Maktuayaq Johnson: “Stitching Strength Through Threads of Awareness: Red Dress Earrings: Honoring Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit relatives through beadwork, cultural knowledge, and community remembrance.” This workshop will take place May 8, 2026 from 5-7:30 at the Anchorage Museum’s Seed Lab.
During this workshop participants will create sealskin red dress earrings adorned with beads. The red dress is a symbol used to share visibility and bring attention to Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women. Indigenous women experience high levels of violence throughout much of North America. Alaska has the fourth highest number of cases of MMIW in the country. This workshop is designed to share understanding of this issue while also building community and sharing cultural skills.
About the artist: Mellisa Maktuayaq Johnson is an Iñupiaq Alaska Native artist and Nome Eskimo Community member whose work reflects a deep connection to culture, land, and community.
This workshop is part of a series being developed in 2026 thanks to funding support from the Arctic Willow Advisory Group. This red dress earring workshop was developed in partnership with the MMIWG2S Alaska Working Group. https://mmiwg2salaska.org. Thank you to the Anchorage Museum’s Seed Lab for sharing space to host this workshop.