Officials mark Red Dress Day at Lethbridge City Hall. (Lethbridge News Now)

By Karsen Marczuk

City of Lethbridge honouring MMIWG2S+, displaying red dresses: VIDEO

May 5, 2021 | 4:01 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB– The City of Lethbridge is honouring missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirited people (MMIWG2S+) by hanging two red dresses out front of city hall to mark Red Dress Day.

Lethbridge Mayor Chris Spearman, says, today is an important day as it tells the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls that they have not been forgotten.

“Remembering and acknowledging the injustices, the lack of follow up, the lack of resolution, these families have lived with for years and in some cases decades. Having a Red Dress Day to recognize that these stories have occurred, that these families are still looking for answers, and that this can’t continue to happen, is why we are here today.”

In 2011, the red dresses were created as an art installation piece by Jamie Black, an artist in Manitoba, to represent thousands of missing and Indigenous women and girls. Over the years, the initiative has expanded across Canada as a way to spark important conversations.

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Pamela Beebe, Indigenous Relations Coordinator at the City of Lethbridge, says some community members are turned off by traditional activism, which creates a barrier between it and them.

“This is a way to break down any barrier that might exist. It’s in nature, it’s visible, it’s easily accessible for anyone to see and have discussions to honour those MMIWG2S+ that we’ve lost and that are still out there. It’s a way to talk about the issue and to find real changes that all of us can be involved in.”

Beebe adds, even in southern Alberta, Indigenous women and girls are impacted by violence. She says as a community, people can start by becoming more informed of these tragedies.

“Unfortunately, violence towards MMIWG2S+ is an ongoing crisis. Human trafficking is an ongoing crisis. There are so many different issues and ways the general public can find out more and find out ways to help prevent these tragedies.”

In January, the City Council passed the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Work Plan, which allocated $435,000 to the group. The city is also hiring an Indigenous adviser and seven summer student positions for Indigenous people.

READ MORE: Council approves MMIWG $435,000 work plan

“Some of that funding that came forward allows us to address these issues immediately, for example, transit passes, we’re immediately able to put transit passes in the hands of vulnerable women, girls and two-spirited people,” added Beebe.

The City of Lethbridge created the Reconciliation Lethbridge Advisory Committee to promote mutual understanding and support for the urban Indigenous community and the municipality’s relationship with the Blackfoot Confederacy and Metis Nation of Alberta, Region 3.

“[The committee] is responsible for the activities that happen during reconciliation week, which is the third week in September,” said Spearman. “By highlighting these activities as opportunities to change, it really supports our vision as a city. We talk about Lethbridge as being a gateway to opportunity, it’s a gateway to opportunity for all, everyone that lives here.”

As part of Red Dress Day, the city will also be gifting a bouquet of flowers to the Kainai Healing Lodge, allowing the residents to be a part of the day in memory of the MMIWG2S+ as well as the families of those affected by the tragedies.