Jaime Black is of Anishinaabe and Finnish descent. This Canadian multidisciplinary artist-activist is focused on First Nations and Indigenous representation and identity.[1] She identifies as Métis, an ethnic group native to the three Prairie Provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta) as well as parts of Ontario, British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories of Canada and the Northern United States, which traces descent to both Indigenous North Americans and Western European settlers.[2] Black is best known for her art installation The REDress Project that she created as a response to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) crisis in Canada as well as the United States.[3] A 2014 report by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police found that more than 1,000 Indigenous women were murdered over the span of 30 years from 1980 to 2012.[4] However, some Indigenous advocacy groups dispute these reports arguing that the number is much greater than the government has acknowledged.[5][6]
Black centers her creative practice on Indigenous womanhood and the effects of Colonization on Indigenous peoples in North America. Black's art has brought attention to the continued violence against Indigenous women.[3] Her artwork has been featured in many museums across North America and has received recognition from the Canadian government, with a holiday celebrating her work on The REDress project called Red Dress Day.[7]