Red Dress Day
- May 5, 2025
- 2 min read
For support, please reach out to the MMIWG2S+ Support Line at: 1-844-413-6649
In Canada and across Turtle Island, the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people is a human rights crisis, exacerbated by ongoing systemic racial inequalities and colonial narratives. Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People are disproportionately exposed to violence compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts.
The National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People is also known as Red Dress Day. The REDress Project was started by Métis artist Jamie Black in 2010. Black gathered and hung hundreds of red dresses, as a way to represent missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada.
In 2016, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls was founded in Canada. Over the 3 years of the Inquiry, over 2000 participants with varying experiences, such as family members, survivors, Knowledge-Keepers, and experts came together to share their truths. In 2019, the Final Report of the Inquiry was published, including 231 calls for justice.
As well, in 2019, the National Inquiry into MMIWG created a student and youth engagement guide titled Their Voices Will Guide Us. This guide outlines education plans for teachers and educators to help teach accurately and ethically about Indigenous women and girls, to try to break cycles of harm and keep future generations of women, girls, and two-spirit individuals safe. Reading lists for all age groups have been included in the Their Voices Will Guide Us program, and we have included a few of the books below.
Elementary School: Little Bear’s Vision Quest by Diane Silvey
Middle School: Speaking Our Truth by Monique Gray Smith
High School: Will I See? by David A. Robertson
Films: Shades of Our Sisters, Finding Dawn (NFB), Peace River Rising: The link between violence against Indigenous women and violence against the land (CBC)
To learn more about the ongoing crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People, please visit the links below:
