UPEI marks National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

Every May 5, the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, also called Red Dress Day, is solemnly observed. Throughout the UPEI campus, red dresses were carefully hung by the staff of the Mawi’omi Indigenous Student Centre. The purpose of hanging the dresses on the campus is to draw attention to the gendered and racialized nature of violent crimes against Indigenous women and to evoke a presence through the marking of absence by honouring Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

The origins of Red Dress Day trace back to 2010 when Métis artist Jaime Black conceived the REDress Project. This powerful art installation was born out of a desire to bring attention to the staggering number of women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals who have fallen victim to violent crimes. Since its inception, the tradition of adorning spaces with red dresses has spread nationwide, including at UPEI, serving as both a memorial for those lost and a rallying cry for preventative action against future violence.