User:Iwath7/Isabella Aikuli Cornell

= Isabella Aikuli Cornell =

Isabella Aikuli Cornell (born 2001) is a Native American activist and a member of the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma. In 2018, she wore a specially designed prom dress to raise awareness for the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women. The dress has been featured in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

Early life
Cornell is from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and she is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. She attended Fort Lewis College in Colorado.

Activism
A central aim of Cornell's activism is addressing the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and the failure of police to protect and provide justice to Indigenous women. Cornell has been an advocate of Matriarch, a intertribal organization of women of the Chickasaw, Cherokee, Choctaw, and other nations.

Red Prom Dress
In 2018, Cornell wore a red prom dress to express support for the victims of the missing and murdered Indigenous women epidemic and raise awareness of the issue. Inspired by the REDress Project—a public art installation of red dresses honoring missing and murdered Indigenous women—red dresses serve as a symbol of the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Additionally, her Native Choctaw culture was symbolized in the dress's detailing.

Legacy
Cornell's prom dress was featured in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's "Girlhood (It's complicated)" exhibit, which explores womanhood in contemporary American politics, education, and fashion. Through the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, Cornell's red gown will be on tour in the United States from 2023 to 2025. As stated in Teen Vogue, Cornell's prom dress is an inspiration for Native representation in contemporary American culture.