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10th Annual CAM™ & Red Sands EventHonoring Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Relatives (MMIWR) for Community Grieving and Healing
Saturday, November 14, 2026
🕐 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM CST
📍 UW-Milwaukee Student Union, Wisconsin Room
2200 E Kenwood Blvd
Milwaukee, WI 53211
Ten years ago, the Community Activated Medicine™ (CAM™) & Red Sands Event became Milwaukee’s first collective grief & healing space for Indigenous survivors and family impacted by the Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Relatives crisis. Lea S. Denny, the Founder & CEO of HIR Wellness Institute and a handful of community members dedicated themselves to cultivating a space to hold grief, together, in community. Since this initial gathering our event has grown to being a sacred space for all to come together to hold space for our grief, healing, justice, and collective action.
The gathering was born from grief too often carried quietly and alone. Families needed space to share their loved ones’ stories, stand beside those still searching, and be held close by community. Through art, ceremony, storytelling, culture, and body-based healing, relatives were invited to move with grief, not be expected to move past it. We poured red sand, walked together, listened, witnessed, breathed, and remembered. Each act became part of a collective grief practice, affirming that healing was never meant to happen in isolation.
As a survivor of violence herself, Lea designed this survivor-led and -centered gathering to create space each year in Milwaukee for grief, remembrance, justice, hope, and collective healing. Take time to slow down, breathe, and connect with helpers and healers who can support you in releasing pain, receiving care, and finding strength to continue forward.
All are welcome to join us in remembrance, respect, and community care.
Gather With Us for:
Indigenous & Community Speakers
Youth Voices
Fire, Culture, and Ceremony
CAM™ Village of Care
Collective Grief Vigil
Mental health and somatic support provided by the HIR Wellness Institute’s team of licensed mental health providers and advanced clinical interns.
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Event venue
2200 E Kenwood Blvd, Milwaukee, WI 53211-3361, United States
Tickets
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