‘Reservation Dogs’ Star D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai Brings Symbolic Message to Emmys With Red Hand Painted on Face

Carly Thomas
·2 min read
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D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai took to the 2024 Emmys red carpet on Sunday with a powerful symbolic message.

The Reservation Dogs star painted a red handprint over his mouth to stand in solidarity with missing and murdered Indigenous women. According to the organization Native Hope, it’s a symbol of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement and stands for “all the missing sisters whose voices are not heard” and “the silence of the media and law enforcement in the midst of this crisis.”

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Woon-A-Tai has been outspoken about making Indigenous stories more visible in Hollywood, including with Reservation Dogs, which aired its final season of the FX on Hulu series earlier this year.

The actor also earned his first Emmy nomination this year for best lead actor in a comedy series for his role in Reservation Dogs. The show was also nominated for best comedy series.

Woon-A-Tai previously told The Hollywood Reporter that he connected with his character, Bear Smallhill, from his first audition, even before he read the whole script.

“The writers room was all Indigenous, and they knew that they wanted to tell their stories, and in telling their own stories, they told the stories of a lot of other Native kids out there as well, me being one of them,” the actor said. “I related to Bear right off the bat, and I see a lot of similarities within myself, within my cousins and my nephews, and with family and friends. There are definitely a lot of Bears in the world and in what we call Indian Country, just like there are Willie Jacks everywhere or Elora Danans or Cheeses everywhere.”

The 2024 Emmy Awards, co-hosted by Eugene Levy and Dan Levy, were held Sunday night at the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE in downtown Los Angeles. Find the complete list of winners here, and check out all the star’s red carpet looks here.

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