KENORA— Kenora Catholic District School Board honoured Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls on Red Dress Day.
They called upon all students, parents, guardians, caregivers, and staff on Thursday to stand together in solidarity and pray for the families and communities of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Along with the board’s announcement, Minister of Indigenous Services, Patty Hajdu; Minister of Crown Indigenous Relations, Marc Miller; and Minister of Northern Affairs, Daniel Vandal, made their own statement today. "Today's day of remembering was inspired by Jaime Black's Red Dress art installation project, which included red dresses placed in public spaces as a visual reminder of the pain and loss felt by families and survivors of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.”
The government’s news release explained the intent of the red dresses, as a way to highlight the absence of the loved ones who were once close. It shared that “red is the colour that spirits can see.”
As a result of this project, a grassroots movement across North America for all to remember and recognize this loss and become what is now known as Red Dress Day was inspired. Consequently, today is a national day for all Canadians to reflect and recognize that we all must take action, and advocating for change.
This initiative is focused on creating change and what the Minister of Indigenous Services, Crown-Indigenous Relations, and Northern Affairs, described as a means of, “supporting survivors, families, and communities, while living up to our goals as a country and all the Calls for Justice.”
The Kenora Catholic District School Board, encouraged each of the six schools under their umbrella, to take time, and focus on what “Red Dress Day” truly represents, while standing together in solidarity to support a project that resonates across North America on Thursday.
