May 5th is Red Dress Day. It is a day of action on behalf of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit People in Canada where female identifying people are murdered at more than 10x the national average.
Amnesty International has the following to say:
Indigenous women, girls and 2 Spirited people face a human rights crisis in Canada, the violence that they face amounts to genocide. It is not just a crisis – it is a national shame. Canada has built systems that disappear Indigenous women from the Indian Act to modern policing. These broken structures are doing what they were designee to do: erase Indigenous presence, silence Indigenous voices, and sever Indigenous futures.
Red Dress Day matters because it makes the invisible visible. It forces this country to confront the truth. It reminds us that every single life matters, that these lives still matter, and we will never stop fighting for justice.
If you would like to learn more about this day, below are some videos and podcasts that shed light onto this systemic issue. Please note that these resources contain some mature content and may include descriptions of sexual and physical assault.
More information can be found in the library and on the display in the foyer.
