Red Dress Day is May 5—Join us in marking this important day

The following message was also emailed to faculty and staff on April 22, 2025.

Red Dress Day is a National Day of Awareness and Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Gender Diverse Peoples (MMIWG2S) that takes place on May 5. It is a day to remember, to learn, and to take action.

No one knows exactly how many Indigenous women, girls, and gender diverse people have gone missing or have been murdered in Canada, but some estimates indicate the number is more than 4,000 since 1980. It may be much higher.

In 2010, Métis artist Jaime Black created the REDress Project in response to this human rights crisis. They hung empty red dresses to symbolize and to remember the missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and gender diverse people across this territory. In a media interview, Black explained the dresses “call in the energy of the women who are lost… People notice there is a presence in the absence.” They further explained, “red is very sacred and powerful. It relates to our lifeblood and that connection between all of us.” Their art installation was the inspiration for Red Dress Day.

UPEI, please join us in marking this important day by prominently hanging a red dress in your department or your office until May 5. If you do not have a red dress, you can also print and display the attached Red Dress poster or access it here: https://tinyurl.com/33kz2r8k  

To learn more about Missing and Murdered Indigenous women, girls, and gender diverse peoples, read the final report of the National Inquiry here: https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca

If you do not have access to a colour printer and would like a copy of the flyer delivered to your office or department, please contact Kelly at the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office: 902-620-5428 or kerobinson@upei.ca