May 5 marks Red Dress Day – the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit, and Gender Diverse (MMIWG2S+) peoples in Canada. Red Dress Day is not only a day of remembrance, but also a call to action to address the systems of colonial violence. Justice and redress for MMIWG2S+ requires us to confront the systems that allow the crisis of MMIWG2S+ to continue. This includes implementing the 231 Calls for Justice of the National Inquiry into MMIWG2S+ and upholding inherent human rights of Indigenous peoples that are set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We stand in solidarity with Indigenous families, survivors, and communities and commit to taking action in our work and our lives to upholding their rights and demanding justice.
There are many ways we can all take action on Red Dress Day:
- Learn the origins of Red Dress Day and why we wear red: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6746804.
- Read the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ Calls for Justice, and consider how to support their implementation through your work and our work as a firm.
- Listen to the stories of MMIWG2S. This podcast shares the stories of some: https://www.takenthepodcast.com/taken-the-podcast
- Donate (in-kind or otherwise) to organizations working to address gender-based violence and the social, economic, cultural, institutional, and historical causes that contribute to the ongoing violence against Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited, and gender diverse people in Canada. For example:
- Battered Women’s Support Services
- Aboriginal Mother Centre Society
- Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre
- Indian Residential Schools Survivors Society
- Donate and shop at My Sister’s Closet, a social enterprise that is managed by Battered Women’s Support Services.
- Attend a vigil, rally, or march close to home.
- Wear Red