National Day of awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG), also known as Red Dress Day falls on May 5 annually in Canada.
This day started in 2010 as a response to bring awareness to more than 1,000 missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, transgender and two-spirit individuals. Red dresses put on display or word during this time serve as a visual reminder of all those missing or murdered.
In Wetaskiwin’s Jubilee Park, residents will see red dresses hanging around the park including information sheets with facts about MMIWG.
One of the information sheets attached to a red dress at Jubilee Park states, “Most of the cases of Missing and Murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people happen in urban areas. This does not mean that these cases don’t happen in rural communities or on reserve as they do.”