Tay Township honours Canada’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People

May 5 marks the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S+), also known as Red Dress Day.

Red Dress Day evolved from a 2010 exhibition by Metis artist Jaime Black, who wanted to create a visual representation of the large number of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people and the disproportionate physical, emotional and sexual violence they have experienced. The movement quickly spread and now red dresses are hung across North America annually on May 5.

Following a smudging ceremony and traditional drumming by Bonnie Sherrif and her group, red dresses were placed outside the Municipal Office today as an aesthetic response to the more than one thousand missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada. The red dress installation will be displayed at the Municipal Office until Mother’s Day.

Additional Resources:

You can connect with the MMWIG2S+ support call line at 1-844-413-6649. This line is available free of charge, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You can also connect via the Hope for Wellness Line, which was established as a specific resource for First Nations and Inuit to provide immediate, culturally competent telephone counselling, 24 hours a day. It can be accessed by phone at 1-855-242-3310 or through the online chat portal.