D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai delivers powerful message at 2024 Emmy Awards with symbolic red handprint

D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai used his 2024 Emmy Awards appearance to raise awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

At the 2024 Emmy Awards, Reservation Dogs actor D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai made a statement with his attire, wearing an all-black suit paired with a red handprint painted over his mouth. The 22-year-old, nominated for his first Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, used this symbolic gesture to bring attention to the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

According to Native Hope, the red handprint represents the voices of Indigenous women who have gone missing or been murdered, and the silence of media and law enforcement in addressing the crisis. The organization states the symbol "stands for all the missing sisters whose voices are not heard" and represents a call for action with the hashtag #NoMoreStolenSisters.

Woon-A-Tai was nominated for his role as Bear Smallhill in the FX series Reservation Dogs, which follows a group of Indigenous teens in Oklahoma. Though the award for Best Actor went to Jeremy Allen White, Woon-A-Tai's message resonated with viewers, continuing his commitment to amplifying Indigenous voices.

In a previous interview with Variety, Woon-A-Tai discussed how Reservation Dogs had taught him the importance of representation, stating, "Reservation Dogs has taught me how important it is that we are the ones to tell our stories for us."