Today is Red Dress Day, a day to remember and raise awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit People in Canada.
Frances Chartrand, Vice President of the Northwest Métis Council, said even the simple act of raising awareness for these issues in Canada is incredibly important.
"What we're doing is we're trying to bring awareness, all across Canada, to let people know that our family members, our sisters, our brothers that never made it home, we're still looking for them, and we want to make sure to educate the general public," said Chartrand.
Within Dauphin, the Northwest Métis Council is hosting a memory walk on Main Street, with a memory wall near their office.
"We have a memory wall set up, anybody who wants to come put pictures up, wants to put a red ribbon or red dress up on there, we're gonna keep it open for the rest of the week so people know...we're walking at 3:30, we're leaving from the corner of Main across from the courthouse, and we'll be walking directly to our office right down Main Street, we have already contacted all our partners, we contacted the schools, and we're expecting a good turnout, and then we'll end up at 422 Main Street at the Northwest Métis Council Governance Office," said Chartrand.
Chartrand said she hopes Red Dress Day helps to educate people about the importance of both rememberance and raising awareness.
"Our sisters, our brothers, our cousins that are missing have a family. They're mothers, they're brothers, they're sisters, they're aunts, they're uncles, there's a void in their families [when] they're not returned home," said Chartrand.
MMIWG2S isn't just an issue here in Manitoba. According to Justice Canada, 10% of all missing women in Canada are Indigenous, and between 2001 and 2014, Manitoba had a higher police-reported homicide rate for Indigenous women than the overall rate.
