The Red Dress Campaign began ten years ago in a grassroots manner and continues to grow not only in our community but across the country. One of the lead organizers this year is Tammy Meise who, like many involved in the movement, has lost someone close. Her childhood friend Kari Anne Gordon was murdered at the age of 26, and she among many others will be commemorated over the two day event.

Meise, a member of the Hospital Employees Union, mentioned that it has been asked of the organizing committee if representing missing men and boys was somehow possible in the event as well. She reflected, “How do you say to somebody, to a Mom… that you know... men and boys don’t count too.” Meise noted the difficulty of navigating how to then include the pain of those who have lost their sons as well. The organization has a mandate to commemorate, and raise awareness of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls (MMIWG), partly because women and girls are disproportionately affected by violence. To take on the acknowledgment of losing community members beyond that primary goal, without detracting from the central MMIWG2S issue, it was decided to represent missing men and boys this year by dedicating a tree on the ceremony site as “The Tree of Ties.” Placing neckties onto the tree will be incorporated in the ceremony’s proceedings this year.

Placing painted stones at the base of the Red Dress Monument has become an unofficial, but supported, practice of engaging with the Red Dress Campaign and movement.
Credit: Ian Gregg

Also involved in this year’s anniversary proceedings are Jaime Black, the artist who initially presented the red dress as a symbol of the women and girls who have gone missing over the years, with many cases unsolved. Manitoba MP Leah Gazan will also speak at the Saturday event, who has advocated for the implementation of a Red Dress Alert in Canada to shorten emergency response times during cases of reported missing persons.

For Saturday September 5th guests are welcome and asked to RSVP, in lieu of food, prior to joining at the Connaught Youth Centre (1491 17th Ave) beginning at 1pm. On Sunday all are invited to where the Red Dress Stand takes place at the Red Dress Monument (Ferry Ave. & Hwy. 16) at 11am, before proceeding to Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park for a gathering.

Please visit the event page for more event info and details.

- Ian Gregg, CFURadio 88.7FM, Due North News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Check out more of our stories on FrequencyNews.ca

Podcast subscription URL for your podcast app (RSS):

https://anchor.fm/s/10166ba64/podcast/rss

Insert Coin Here