Red Dresses displayed at University of Waterloo to honour MMIWG2S
Red dresses have been hung at the University of Waterloo in honour of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit people.
Red Dress Day is held annually on May 5.
“We have days like this so that we can remember these beautiful people, two-spirited people and transgender people that have suffered this pain,” Myeengun Henry, the elder and knowledge keeper at University of Waterloo, said.
“A lot of these women had no court cases after to resolve the reason they were murdered in the first place. They’re almost like lost spirits on this earth who still never had answers.”
The red dresses are displayed along with posters sharing the personal stories of women, girls and two-spirit people who were affected.
“The first time I ever spoke about Red Dress Day was in 1995 on a university campus. That’s 34 years ago and we still need to talk about it,” Jean Becker, the associate vice president of Indigenous relations at the University of Waterloo, said.
Red dresses lay spread out across a table at the University of Waterloo to honour Missing and Murdered Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people. May 2, 2024. (Stefanie Davis/CTV News)
In 2019, the final report from The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls was published. It highlighted 231 calls for justice.
Becker said there hasn’t been follow through on all of those calls.
“Who’s in charge of it? Who’s making sure that these things are implemented?” she said.
Henry said society hasn’t progressed as much as he would like.
“We’re still seeing tragedies, especially in northern communities and urban centres where human trafficking of First Nations people is still in abundance,” he said.
Becker said everyone can help in making a difference.
“On the public side, it’s just speaking up. It’s saying to your government officials or to whoever will listen to us: do something.”
The dresses will remain inside the Faculty of Health over the weekend, before being displayed outside on campus next week.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Looking over our shoulders': A killing looms large in a little B.C. town
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished. It used to be the sort of place where parents let their kids roam free or play in the local creek, but everything has changed.
Officer who arrested Scottie Scheffler is being disciplined for not having bodycam activated
The Kentucky police officer who arrested top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler outside the PGA Championship is receiving “corrective action” for failing to have his body-worn camera activated.
Toronto man falls off his chair after seeing $70M Lotto Max win in his bank account
A Toronto man who won $70 million in a recent Lotto Max draw literally fell off his chair when he saw the funds in his bank account.
Montreal-area high school students protest 'sexist' dress code
Students at Curé-Antoine-Labelle High School near Montreal are protesting after they say their school's administration started pushing what they call a 'sexist' dress code.
'I won't stop,' Celine Dion says in trailer for upcoming doc about her health woes
Celine Dion's fans are getting a first glimpse of the superstar's struggle with a rare neurological disorder in an emotional trailer for an upcoming documentary about her career and life.
Air travel is expensive. WestJet wants the government to do more to change that
WestJet is asking the federal government to put measures in place to lower ticket costs for travellers, but questions remain on who would foot the bill.
Hundreds have applied for this 'adventurer' job in Banff National Park
Coined as Banff's 'ultimate summer job,' the Moraine Lake Bus Company says hundreds of people from across the world have applied for its adventurer position.
Canadian Hurricane Centre says active storm season predicted for East Coast
The Canadian Hurricane Centre is predicting an active storm season off the country's East Coast this year, mainly due to record warm water temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean.
U.S. senators write to Trudeau asking him to meet 2% GDP defence spending commitment
A bipartisan group of 23 U.S. senators have written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging his country to live up to its commitment to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence amid concerns that key members of the NATO alliance are not pulling their weight.