On May 5, red dresses hang in silence—marking the absence of Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit
people who should still be with us. But we cannot let these dresses remain symbols.
They speak to an ongoing crisis—misogynist, racist, and economic violence—rooted in colonialism and
sustained by institutions that were never meant to protect us.
sustained by institutions that were never meant to protect us.
Indigenous women are being disappeared and killed by state violence, by men’s violence, and by the
cumulative impact of systems built on our disposability.
They are failed repeatedly by:
- Police, who ignore missing persons, mishandle cases, and treat Indigenous deaths with indifference. Noelle O’Soup’s death is one of too many.
- Child welfare, where newborn Indigenous babies are taken from their mothers, severing family bonds and repeating the trauma of residential schools.
- Group homes, often co-ed, where Indigenous girls are warehoused without safety or support, and left vulnerable to abuse, trafficking, and disappearance.
- Workplaces, where Indigenous women face sexual harassment and retaliation for speaking out.
- Homes, where women are trapped in violent relationships without access to housing, income, or safety.
- Courts and social services, which blame Indigenous survivors, denying support, or criminalize Indigenous women and girls for trying to survive.
This is not a series of isolated incidents—it is a pattern of systemic targeting starting through the making of
Canada as a nation.
The 231 Calls for Justice from the National Inquiry remain largely ignored. We are now without a
federal Minister for Women and Gender Equality, even as the crisis deepens. Indigenous women and girls
remain over-policed, under-protected, and shut out of the systems that claim to serve them.
At BWSS, we are not waiting for change—we are aligning with Indigenous Women to create it.
Through our Indigenous Women’s Program, we support women and Two-Spirit people navigating violence,
poverty, grief, and survival.
With the leadership of our Elder, the commitment of our staff and volunteers, and the presence of
the Wildflower Women of Turtle Island Drum Group, we continue this work in community, on the frontlines,
and in ceremony.
We don’t mark this day with symbols alone.
We show up because we have to.
Because lives are still being lost.
Because the systems causing this violence are still in place.
And because Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people deserve more than remembrance—they
deserve safety, justice, and a future.
Red Dress Day isn’t a gesture.
It’s a line we hold.
And we’re holding it—together, in community, with clarity and purpose.
Men women Ending Violence Stops Here
So many people Have Their Voice Not Be slent NO more