By Nayana LaFond

Lauraina in RED

Acrylic on Canvas

"I wanted to participate in this movement because I am a First Nations woman. MMIW is a major issue in our First Nations Communities. My goal is to help raise awareness for our women. This represents "no more stolen sisters". The print on my face is red because it is believed spirits can see the color red. This is to call for our sisters to come home." - Lauraina Bear, Plains Cree from Little Pine First Nation Saskatchewan Treaty 6 Territory.

Nayana Lafond resides in Massachusetts with her daughter Adelaide, where she is a full-time artist and mother. She attended college for fine art and photography at Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. She later dropped out to pursue her passions for art and curation independently. Nayana worked as Chief Curator for the Whitney Center for the Arts for 8 years and has published several articles on art in culture. Her own work can be found in private collections and institutions around the world.

Aside from her career in the arts, Nayana is an entrepreneur, owning and operating a small, independent record label and a Café. In 2014, Nayana was diagnosed with Leukemia and underwent a bone marrow stem cell transplant. Her diagnosis changed her outlook on life and she then decided to focus more completely on her art and activism, as a survivor of domestic violence.

Nayana is Anishinaabe from Wikwemikong Unceded Territory, Manitoulin Island in Northern Ontario as well as Abenaki & Mi’kmaq from Three Rivers Quebec, French and German.

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