Chelsea Maldonado ’22 visited campus on Friday, April 28, to deliver a passionate and raw spoken word performance of her stories and poems, highlighting the issues of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). The performance, entitled Redress to the Red Dresses, aimed to “process MMIW and the intersections between colonialism and patriarchy, anti-Indian racism and violence against women, haunting and healing.” Before Maldonado began her performance, she spoke about the ribbon skirt she was wearing. Ribbon skirts symbolize a number of things, including womanhood and indigenous pride. Maldonado, in particular, said her blue ribbon skirt, which featured a number of aquatic animals and wildlife, reminds her of the ways in which everything is interconnected. She also took the time to acknowledge other issues impacting indigenous communities such as clean water, harmful pipelines and the high rates of poverty, abuse and alcoholism on certain reservations. Maldonado also thanked the director of Anthropology and Native American Studies, assistant professor Michael Chaness, for his contribution to her education and his continued dedication to making indigenous voices heard on campus. She performed four short pieces, including The Vision, which touched on female rage as a response to the devastating number of MMIW, and Feathers In My Hair, which examined the ID cards and blood quantum laws that dehumanize indigenous people. Following her performance, she answered some questions from the audience. Most notably, she was asked about how she dealt with the emotions that come along with writing about such intense topics. “I just create a safe space for myself to be vulnerable because I know that it takes a lot more courage to be vulnerable than not to,” Maldonado said. Maldonado was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and raised in Queens, N.Y., which she said molded her identity as an urban indigenous individual. During her time at Oswego, she majored in journalism with a minor in Native American studies. She was also a proud member of the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), which assists students coming from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
“With creative writing, it gives me the freedom to express myself more in terms of how I feel about my culture, and then with journalism, it's more about education,” Maldonado said. Her long-term goal is to return to journalistic writing and focus on indigenous issues as well as indigenous fashion. Maldonado is also currently in the process of editing her first book for publication.
~Ariana St. Hilaire ’23