St. Andrew’s Mission Team Acknowledges Red Dress Day
In Canada, May 5, also known as Red Dress Day, is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2S).
The Report from the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls concluded that the murder and disappearance of Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people is an ongoing genocide.
In 2010, Métis visual artist Jaime Black used red dresses to represent the more than 1000 missing Canadian Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people. Black used the colour red in her art installation because an Indigenous friend explained to her that it is the only colour that spirits can see. It also represents lifeblood, and the gendered and racialized nature of violent crimes against Indigenous women. In her words, Black wanted to use a “garment women wear to look beautiful” to “evoke a presence through the marking of absence.”
Black’s visual representation through her REDress Project has since evolved into Red Dress Day.
The day is meant to:
- build awareness of this ongoing bloodshed;
- honour those who have been lost; and
- show support for their families.
You can mark this day of solidarity by:
- Wearing red and posting it to social media. Use hashtags such as: #MMIWG, #MMIWG2S, #RedDressDay, #WhyWeWearRed, and #NoMoreStolenSisters
- Hang a red dress in your window or your yard.