Today@Dal

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

Violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people is disproportionately high in Canada. To raise awareness and pay tribute, the Dalhousie community is encouraged to wear red, learn more about MMIWG2S at the resources below, and support local events. 

Why red dresses? 

In 2010, Métis artist Jamie Black launched the REDress Project as “an aesthetic response to this critical national issue”. Black displayed hundreds of red dresses in public spaces to symbolize the absence of Indigenous women and girls who have gone missing or been murdered, aiming to raise awareness about this pressing issue. Red Dress Day has since gained recognition nationwide. 

In Halifax 

Join the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre for an awareness walk, followed by an opening prayer, candlelight vigil, drumming, and moment of silence. 

Learn more
 

• Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
  
  
• Red Dress Day: What it is and how it began from CBC Kids
  
  
• Explore MMIWG from the Assembly of First Nations
  
  
• MMIWG2S+ and Violence Prevention from the Native Women's Association of Canada

Indigenous resources at Dalhousie
 

• Mi'kmaq and Indigenous relations
• Elders in residence and traditional knowledge keepers
• Indigenous Student Centre in Halifax
• Indigenous student support in Truro
• Indigenous research resources
• Indigenous Advisory Council
• Library research guides (LibGuides)
• Indigenous Services Librarian
• Killam Library’s Ko’jua Okuom room

Featured image: An art installation at Seaforth Peace Park in Vancouver, B.C., inspired by the REDress Project. (Edna Winti/Flickr/Creative Commons)