Event in Kitchener honours Missing and Murdered Indigenous people on Red Dress Day

The sound of drums and chants rang throughout downtown Kitchener Sunday.

It was part of a solemn occasion to remember Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people across the country.

“If you know somebody who's missing and murdered, this is your opportunity to allow them to travel in peace and say your goodbyes,” said Donna Dubie, executive director of The Healing of the Seven Generations.

A crowd, adorned in red, marched through the streets of Kitchener to acknowledge the country’s dark history and the healing that still needs to be done.

“We've been calling for it for a couple of years now - to search the landfills because we know that some of our women are there and they haven't done it,” Dubie said.

People marched through Kitchener on May 5, 2024 in honour of Red Dress Day. (Hannah Schmidt/CTV News)

It was an especially emotional day for Serena Wesley who says she was nine-years-old when her mother was killed by her boyfriend in 1986.

“I walk for my mom, Roberta Chafe Wesley. She was a part of the residential school, a day school survivor, and I understand her more now as an adult than I ever did as a child,” she said.

When Red Dress Day comes around each year on May 5, Wesley still thinks of her mother, but also of all the other victims that have died or are still missing.

“It is literally a worry for me every day that Indigenous young girls, you know, they can walk out the door and possibly not come back.”

150 red dresses and pants were displayed throughout Kitchener’s Victoria Park to serve as a tribute to the lives lost.

“Sometimes I feel hopeless and at other times I feel all you can do is try to do what you can do and to live your life as an ally, to support and try to help create change one voice at a time,” said attendee Mark Wotton.

The significance of Red Dress Day extends beyond just one day of remembrance. It's a call to action for groups to address the root causes of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit individuals.

“If they understand where our fears come from and why we are the way we are and generational trauma they can maybe understand it, they can help break the cycle,” Wesley explained.

“I'm honoured to be a part of it and I also feel that it's my responsibility because, yes, the community has become involved, but it's a small part of the community,” Wotton said. “There's so many people that are either indifferent to it or don't support it. The governments have not been as proactive or active and just focusing on the harm that has already happened to Indigenous people, but not the harm that happens every day.”

Red Dress Day comes just days after The Healing of the Seven Generations reported a theft from their cultural display to police.

“This year we got vandalized and it's just an indicator to say where people are in their own mindset to have to come in and vandalize something that was a memorial. Why would they do that?” Dubie questioned.

Regional police are continuing to investigate the matter and encourage anyone with information to contact them.

For the Indigenous community in Waterloo Region, their narrative remains the same.

“Things need to step up,” Dubie said. “The safety of our children and the safety of our kids depends on that.”

“I hope that if my mom was here today, she would be proud to embrace her culture like we’re proud to live it and teach it and to make sure that she's a part of her granddaughters’ lives and helping them grow and learn that culture and not let that residential school kill her spirit,” Wesley said.