Yesterday was Red Dress Day, observed every year on May 5 as a National Day of Awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Two-Spirit people, a response of mourning and a demand for action.
The Red Dress is a powerful visual symbol. The first colour used in art was red, drawn from ochre (natural clay) for cave drawings from 75,000 years ago. A deeper history can be claimed for red with the blending of ochre and marrow fat and tools recovered dating back 100,000 years in the Western Cape of South Africa.
It’s fair to say the colour red has many meanings. The cultural significance of red for many Indigenous nations lies in its symbolizing of “life, blood, strength, the earth, protection and spiritual power”. Many Indigenous nations view red as representative of life itself, the force that connects people and animals and the land. The choice of red for the dress is a powerful symbol of Indigenous identity, activism and remembrance.
Artist Jaime Black, a Red River Métis, initiated The REDress Project in 2010 to mark the first National Day of Awareness, representing the absence of the Indigenous women who had been taken and/or killed and to bring awareness of the scale of the crisis.
Amnesty International described Jaime’s work as “a visual reminder of the staggering number of missing and murdered Indigenous women across Canada. Jaime hung red dresses in public spaces, from trees to lampposts, creating a stark contrast against the landscape, evoking both sorrow and resilience.”
I describe Jaime’s creation as the very essence of resilience and strength and integrity and inspiration. So often we want to hang our heads in dismay over the fact that change is so very slow, but Jaime calls us to raise our heads and raise our voices and raise our commitment to doing better, to remembering what matters, to be an example to our children, to cling to hope and purpose.
We must remember that the red dress is not merely a symbol but, more importantly, a demand for justice. The National Inquiry into MMIWG (2016-2019) released 231 calls for justice. Red Dress Days keep our focus on the need for systemic change. CBC News reported in 2023 that only two of the 231 Calls for Justice have been completed, and more than half haven’t yet been started.
I urge you to visit the CBC comprehensive report at www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/cfj-report-cards/cfj1 for a detailed breakdown of the progress nationally and within the provinces and territories.
The National Plan was the collaborative effort of governments, Indigenous organizations and the National Family and Survivors Circle to end violence against Indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse people. The plan targets safety and human security, justice system reform, health and wellness, culture and language revitalization, anti-racism and accountability, Indigenous-led child welfare and protection and economic and education supports. Progress has been made, but much work is yet to be done due to slow implementation, insufficient coordination and a lack of measurable indicators of accountability, with little change for families and survivors.
The empty dress reminds us of the lives of those girls and women and two-spirit people, and to not merely focus on the shocking statistics. The stories of their lives must be remembered, not just their deaths.
My daughter works with Indigenous Studies for the Surrey District School Board in B.C., and this past week was witness to a positive and uplifting expression of awareness in one of the schools. Students in a textile class were given the opportunity to create a work of art in honour of those lives lost. Each student received the name of a missing or murdered girl or two-spirit person and the story of who they were and how they are remembered.
The students were told to think about that specific person as they worked on their creations. The protocols of the beading projects they undertook required them to have an open heart, to be working from a good place, with positive energy, and when the piece was completed, to give it away as a symbol of reciprocity.
The students each shared the story of the life they were remembering. It was a powerful and moving example of positive action, my daughter explained to me. The engagement by the students was both emotional and fierce. One student born in Canada of Syrian refugee parents insisted that her identity as a “Canadian”, which she repeated several times, ensured her curiosity and commitment to learning more and being part of the change needed. I found that simple statement filled me with hope.
wendistewart@live.ca
