Red Dress Day 2025, held every May 5th, is a National Day of remembrance and activism honouring the lives of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirited People (MMIWG2S+). It began with the REDress Project, created by Métis artist Jaime Black in 2010. On this day, red dresses will be draped in trees, hanging from windows, pinned to jackets, worn as earrings and red hands painted across faces, people will be partaking in rally’s and ceremonies to honour their loved ones, participating as ally’s and fighting for justice.
The MMIWG Report refers to the FINAL Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls released in June 2019. It is the result of over two years of gathering testimonies from more than 2,380 individuals including family members of missing and murdered women, survivors, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, front-line workers and experts. The inquiries’ mandate was to investigate and report on systemic causes of the violence experienced by Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ peoples in Canada and proposed solutions. The report is two volumes and contains 231 Calls for Justice, directed at governments, institutions, special services, industries and all Canadians.
Indigenous women and girls make up less than 5% of the Canadian population but represent approximately 24% of all homicide victims. They are 12x more likely to be murdered. Over 60% of Indigenous women experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.
A statistics Canada report showed that 56% of Indigenous women experience intimate partner violence, more than double the rate for non-Indigenous people.
Indigenous women constitute 41.4% of the federally incarcerated female population, despite representing just over 4% of the Canadian female population.
Indigenous women, girls and 2 Spirited people face a human rights crisis in Canada, the violence that they face amounts to genocide called by the MMIWG Report. It is not just a crisis – it is a national shame. Canada has built systems that disappear Indigenous women from the Indian Act to modern policing. These broken structures are doing what they were designee to do: erase Indigenous presence, silence Indigenous voices, and sever Indigenous futures.
Red Dress Day matters because it makes the invisible visible. It forces this country to confront the truth. It reminds us that every single life matters, that these lives still matter, and we will never stop fighting for justice.
We must transform society and shift the way Canadians think about and approach the issues related to violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.
Jingle Dancers perform at the closing ceremony marking the conclusion of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls at the Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec on June 3, 2019. (Photo by Andrew Meade / AFP) (Photo credit should read ANDREW MEADE/AFP via Getty Images)
In many Indigenous Nations, women hold key roles as life-givers, water and land protectors, knowledge holders, and leaders. Colonialism attempted to erase these roles through forced assimilation, patriarchy, and systemic violence. Uplifting Indigenous women is essential to restoring community wellness, governance systems, language and culture.
In many Indigenous cultures across Turtle Island, women are not just life-givers, they hold sacred responsibilities in spiritual, legal, social, and ecological orders. Women are the water carriers, the knowledge holders, the protectors of culture, and the voices of intergenerational wisdom.
In Anishinaabe teachings, women are closely tied to the moon and water. They lead water ceremonies and are seen as stewards of balance between the physical and spiritual worlds. In Haudenosaunee societies, Clan Mothers are central to governance, they select and remove chiefs and guide the council with ancestral teachings and vision.
This genocide has been empowered by colonial structures evidenced notably by the Indian Act, the Sixties Scoop, residential schools, and breaches of human and Indigenous rights.
Colonial systems attempted to erase these roles through policies like the Indian Act and residential school system, stripping many Indigenous women of their legal status, voices, and power. We must protect Indigenous women as sacred beings, honouring their lives and ensuring their safety.
Indigenous women land and water defenders are often criminalized and targeted for upholding their sacred responsibilities and protecting their territories against extractive industries.
From Wet’suwet’en matriarchs to all water protectors across Turtle Island, Indigenous women are leading resistance while being disproportionately subjected to violence and surveillance.
The confirmation of the remains of Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and Ashlee Christine Shingoose in the Winnipeg landfills highlights the brutal and ongoing violence against Indigenous women. This tragedy exemplifies how institutional inaction contributes to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ peoples.
Jorden Myran, sister of Marcedes Myran, sits in front of a tree next to Camp Marcedes filled with red dresses in honour of MMIWG2S in Downtown Winnipeg, Canada on September 27 2023. (Photo by Shay Conroy for The Washington Post via Getty Images).
The National Inquiry issued 231 Calls for Justice in 2019, yet implementation has been inconsistent and insufficient.
We urgently call for the creation of a fully Indigenous-led Implementation Oversight Committee that is independently funded and empowered to track, report, and evaluate government actions.
Virtual
Red Dress Day National Panel
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Toronto, ON
Msko-mjigoodenh Giizhigad
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Toronto, ON
10 Armoury Street Toronto, ON M7A 0B9
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Ottawa, ON
110 Laurier Ave West, Ottawa ON
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Ottawa, ON
Red Day Display
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Thunder Bay, ON
Memorial Walk & Vigil
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Thunder Bay, ON
Red Dress Pin Workshop
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Thunder Bay, ON
Red Dress Run
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Saskatoon, SK
Weekend Commemoration
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Winnipeg, MB
Red Dress Display & Sacred Bundle
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Kamloops, BC
Red Dress Day Gathering
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St. Marys, ON
84 Water Street South
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Red Dress Day is held annually on May 5th as a day of remembrance and action in hour of Missing and Murdered Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ peoples. IT was inspired by Jamie Black’s REDress Project where empty red dresses symbolize the absence and loss of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ peoples due to colonial violence.
Yes, it is always observed every year on May 5th. It is intentionally timed to raise awareness during the spring season, a season symbolic for renewal.
Yes, it is appropriate and encouraged to wear a red dress, red clothing to show visible solidarity and acknowledgement of the crisis. Many Indigenous people wear red dress beaded earnings, pins, it is also appropriate for allies to wear these items if they are authentic, Indigenous made items.
