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Red Dress Day brings awareness to MMIW in Courtenay

The day also serves as a reminder to end violence against Indigenous and gender-diver people

Despite the rain, a large crowd gathered at Simms Park in Courtenay Friday (May 5) afternoon surrounded by hanging dresses on trees to bring awareness to Red Dress Day, the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Two Spirit People.

Two local Indigenous organizations - MIKI’SIW Métis Association and the Indigenous Women’s Sharing Society - hosted the event, which included a walk, educational tables, a drumming circle and a hip-hop performance by Sirreal.

“We’re all very, very sad to have a day like this, but it’s a way to honour all of the women that we have lost over the years,” explained Doris Weislein of the IWSS, who is also a freeman of the City of Courtenay and helped start the Upper Island Women of Native Ancestry.

The red dress was inspired by Metis artist Jame Black’s REDress Project, which has come to symbolize loss, grief and injustice over the murder and ongoing violence against Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people in Canada.

The day also serves as a reminder in communities across the country to end violence against Indigenous and gender-diver people.

“Last year, we lost 184 women and girls to femicide,” noted Kelli Paddon, Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity for the Province of British Columbia in a statement.

“At least one in five were Indigenous women or girls. In many cases, they died at the hands of someone they knew. To the women, girls and families who have been harmed, have faced loss and grief, and who may be at risk, please know you are not alone.”

According to the Government of Canada Justice Research and Data page, between 1980 and 2014, there were 6,849 police-reported female homicide cases in Canada. Among the total number of female victims, 16 per cent were Indigenous women.



photos@comoxvalleyrecord.com

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Erin Haluschak

About the Author: Erin Haluschak

Erin Haluschak is a journalist with the Comox Valley Record since 2008. She is also the editor of Trio Magazine...
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