Red Dress Day

Please note: The following information include topics which may negatively impact the reader due to its subject matter. Call the free Red Dress Day hotline at 1-844-413-6649 for immediate emotional assistance related to missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people in Canada. 

Red Dress Day, also known as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ People is observed on May 5. The day honours and brings awareness to the thousands of Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people who have been subject to disproportionate violence in Canada.

The first Red Dress Day began in 2010 with Métis artist Jaime Black’s REDress Project, an exhibit that involves hanging red dresses in public spaces to symbolize the loss of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people to violence. Red dresses are visual reminders of the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people across Canada and have become powerful symbols of hope and acknowledgment.

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) Report

The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls was established in 2016 to examine the systemic causes of violence experienced by Indigenous women and girls and their greater vulnerability to violence. It released its Final Report in 2019, which included calls for legal and social changes aimed at addressing the systemic causes of this ongoing crisis. In response to the Final Report, the National Action Plan was released in 2021, which laid out a path towards ending systemic racism and violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people.  

Resources

Learn more about Red Dress Day through these resources:

• The REDress Project – Jaime Black
  
• Government of Canada: MMIWG
  
• MMIWG Final Report
  
• MMIWG and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People National Action Plan
  
• Murdered & Missing Indigenous Women & Girls - Assembly of First Nations