Gregg Deal's mural features a portrait of his teenager Sage with a red handprint covering their mouth. This symbol is synonymous with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit (MMIWG2S), a grassroots movement dedicated to raising awareness and calling for response when Native women, girls, and two-spirit go missing or are murdered. 

Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit face oppression and violence based not only on their race, but also their gender identity. This group faces murder rates that are ten times that of the national average, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The red handprint represents the unheard voices of the women, girls, and two-spirit who are violently taken as well as the silence of the media and the inaction of law enforcement agencies. 

Earlier in 2020, the artist created a mural of this image in Colorado Springs for Art on the Streets. Deal’s mural stands at 77-feet tall (about three stories), towering over passersby. It loudly calls attention to the MMIWG2S movement, and also identifies the next generation of activists poised to continue to fight the hegemony of white supremacy, settler colonialism, and gendered violence. Sage watches over the Indigenous community in Colorado Springs, serving as a reminder of the Indigenous community’s existence and perpetual fight to guard the wellbeing and safety of Native women, girls, and two-spirit.

For Street Wise, Deal created a mural that similarly features Sage. However, the mural appears darker and moodier with a stark black background and deep shadows across the teen’s face; no visible Interrupters t-shirt or Punk references. The viewer is left to contemplate the gravity of the MMIWG2S movement. His mural carries an intense sadness. In the lower right corner, Deal includes a dedication “To the lost ones. The forgotten ones. The ones without. The sad ones. The struggling ones. The ones that are alone. The ones lost in the crowd. The ones that smile through the pain. The ones who need to hear this. We remember you. We see you. We honor you. We think of you. We love you.”

About the Artist:

@greggdeal

Gregg Deal (Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe) is a provocative contemporary artist who challenges Western perceptions of Indigenous people, touching on issues of race, history, and stereotypes. Through his work—paintings, murals, performance art, filmmaking, and spoken word—Deal critically examines issues and tells stories of decolonization and appropriation that affect Indian country. Deal’s activism exists in his art, as well as his participation in political movements. He has been heavily involved with the media activist movement #changethename, posting a video to Vimeo inviting Indigenous people’s commentary on the sports mascots issue in response to mainstream media’s attempted erasure of Indigenous voices. Most recently, a photograph of Deal was included in the December 2018 National Geographic Society Magazine article “Native Americans are Recasting Views of Indigenous Life.” Deal was a Native Arts Artist-in-Residence at the Denver Art Museum from 2015 to 2016 and an Artist-In-Residence at UC Berkeley from 2017 to 2018. His art has been exhibited nationally since 2002. Deal has lectured widely at prominent educational institutions and museums, including the Denver Art Museum, Dartmouth College, Columbia University, and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. His television appearances include PBS’s The Art District, The Daily Show, and Totally Biased with Kamau Bell.