The day honours the thousands of Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people who have experienced race and gender-based violence in Canada. After calls from the public, elders, survivors, and Indigenous communities, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls was convened by the Government of Canada in 2015. The mandate was to “examine the underlying social, economic, cultural, institutional, and historical causes that contribute to the ongoing violence and particular vulnerabilities of Indigenous women and girls in Canada.”

The inquiry team held 15 community hearings and 9 Knowledge Keeper, Expert and Institutional hearings and spoke with 2,386 people in the Truth Gathering process. Their final report was released in June 2019 and found that the extreme rates of violence against Indigenous women and girls amounted to a colonial, race and gender-based genocide. It included 231 Calls to Justice aimed at governments, institutions, social service providers, industries and all Canadians.

Many Indigenous artists across Canada have inscribed meaning into the red dress, often representing the missing and murdered women and girls or as a colour that is so vibrant and strong that it cannot be ignored.

A pivotal artwork that has shaped Red Dress Day is the REDress Project, which began as an artistic installation in 2010 by Jaime Black, who hung red dresses in public spaces to symbolize the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The project was first displayed at the University of Winnipeg in 2011, and it had over a hundred dresses in pivotal locations on campus.

Many Canadians donated hundreds of dresses to the project, and the installation is permanently shown at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. Jaime was inspired to create the project from a talk by Métis writer and educator Jo-Ann Episkene, who observed women in Bogotá, Colombia, hanging red dresses to mark their remembrance of missing family members.

Reading

• Read the final inquiry report: Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

• The ECU Library has put together a library guide on Red Dress Day, and you can check out the book display located by the Research Help desk.

• The Native Women’s Association of Canada has put together a progress report on the Government of Canada’s commitments since the final report in 2020: Report Card on Government Follow-up to Reclaiming Power and Place: Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
  

• How Red Dresses Became a Symbol for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women - An article in Vogue Magazine contextualizes the usage of red dresses in Jaime Black’s project and the wider movement.

• Red Dress Beading Workshop (May 4, 10:30 A.M.–12 P.M.) The City of New Westminster is hosting a workshop to bead a simple but unique pattern in honour of Red Dress Day. Supplies will be provided at the event, but you can also bring your own beads.

• Red Dress Day Event (10:30 AM - 3:30 PM) - the Fraser Valley Metis Association and the City of Abbotsford will be hanging red dresses at Abbotsford City Hall, along with a march through the city.

Watching:

• The National Film Board has programmed a series of documentaries and features that explore the devastating impacts of families and activists searching for their missing loved ones.

• The REDress Project - A video produced by the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian on Jaime Black’s project and its installation at the museum in 2019.

• Finding Dawn(2006, Christine Welsh) - A documentary that takes a cross-country look at the Indigenous women activists and families advocating for their missing loved ones.

• This River (2019, Erika MacPherson & Katherena Vermette) - A documentary that follows two Indigenous creatives who share their stories of searching for a loved one who has disappeared.

• The Red Dress (1975, Michael Scott) - A feature that explores themes of cultural identity, sexual assault and the familial impact of colonialism in The Red Dress.

Listening:

• Taken - a podcast series produced by APTN and Eagle Vision that discusses the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls from the perspectives of the family and friends who are seeking answers and clues to their disappearances.

• Missing & Murdered: Finding Cleo - Connie Walker, a CBC News investigative reporter, hosts this podcast, which delves into the search to find out what happened to Cleo Nicotine Semaganis, a young Cree girl who was abducted in the 70s by child welfare services in Saskatchewan.

• Indian Residential School Survivors Society Crisis Line- a 24-hour crisis line for survivors and families of survivors. Call toll-free: 1-866-925-4419

• First Nations Health Authority mental health benefits - FNHA partners with Indigenous Services Canada to offer First Nations people in BC a comprehensive mental health plan. The plan covers counselling services from a qualified mental health provider, including psychologists, clinical counsellors and social workers.

• Native Women’s Association of CanadaThe Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) is founded on the collective goal to enhance, promote and foster the social, economic, cultural and political well-being of First Nations, Métis and Inuit women.

• The Hope for Wellness line provides culturally competent counselling for Indigenous people across the country at any time and can be reached toll-free at 1.855.242.3310. Services are available in Cree, Ojibway and Inuktitut upon request.

• Kuu-Us Crisis Line Society provides crisis services for Indigenous people across BC and can be reached toll-free at 1-800-588-8717. For adults/Elders call 250-723-4050; youth line 250-723-2040.

• Métis Crisis Line is a service of the Métis Nation British Columbia. Call 1-833-MétisBC (1-833-638-4722)

• Trauma-informed counselling services are available to ECU students. Counsellors will also be present on campus throughout the week in the Oasis Wellness Lounge.

• The BC Bereavement Helpline is the only free, grief-specific helpline via phone and email in Canada. You can reach them toll-free at 1-877-779-2223 and contact@bcbh.ca.

• For ECU staff and faculty, employee and family assistance services are available online at workhealthlife.com or by phone at 1.844.880.9142 (TTY 1.877.338.0275). These services are free and confidential.

• The Aboriginal Gathering Place at Emily Carr University is open to Indigenous community members daily, Monday through Friday.

• A list of further resources and community supports is available online, including 24-hour crisis supports, distress supports and free/reduced-cost counselling.