Mapping Meaning, the Journal (Issue No. 2)

Mapping for Social Change
Annita Lucchesi
deserved to be heard, whose contributions
were missed, due to the colonial violence that
took them from their families, communities,
and nations.
This colonial violence is seen in myriad
forms—police brutality, disproportionate
rates of gender violence due to racial
stereotypes and gaps in the justice system,
the overrepresentation of indigenous girls in
foster homes and in sex trafficking, and the
imposition of a Western patriarchal system of
power, for example.
Each one of the signs called attention to that
violence, and located it in specific places and
in the lives of specific victims.
As a cartographer, my current work
examines how maps telling stories about
MMIW can help to generate new knowledge
on the issue, and offer a more holistic
understanding of the impacts of such
violence. Wanting the signs to tell a story of
resilience and resurgence, and not just of
loss, I created a map depicting where the
signs were carried.
There were a number of strategic choices
made in the aesthetics of the map. First, it
was drawn in the shape of a ribbon skirt—a
cultural garment many indigenous women
across the US and Canada wear at special
events, ceremonies, community functions,
and increasingly, at political actions. Indeed,
ribbon skirts became commonplace at Idle
No More protests, Women’s Marches, MMIW
awareness events, and even at efforts to
stand for water at Standing Rock. Different
families and communities have varying
teachings on the origins and meanings
of ribbon skirts, but more generally, they
are meant to represent the sacredness of
women, the relationship women have to the
earth, and the cultural vitality of indigenous
women today.
Designing the map in the shape of a skirt
is in honor of these ideas and uses of the
ribbon skirt, and takes inspiration from
a popular form of public awareness on
MMIW—symbolic displays of dresses, skirts,
or women’s garments.
Ribbon skirt by Marisa Miakonda Cummings
The colors on the skirt are also meaningful.
The body of the skirt is red, the primary color
used in MMIW organizing, and the ribbon
Issue N o 2
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