TORONTO Indigenous groups from across the country held grieving ceremonies on Wednesday to remember the nearly 1,200 missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada. May 5 in Canada and the U.S. marks the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG), which coincides with “Red Dress Day.” “This day was started over 11 years ago by Jaime Black, who is a Metis artist, and she wanted to do a public display of red dresses to raise awareness,” Lynne Groulx, CEO of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, told CTV News. According to the RCMP, there are nearly 1,200 missing and murdered Indigenous woman and girls in Canada, though it’s believed the number could be much higher.
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Reps Name National Day For Missing Native Women And Girls
Law360 (May 5, 2021, 9:46 PM EDT) A group of mostly Democratic U.S. Congress members has introduced a resolution to designate May 5 as a National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, saying seven national tribal organizations have joined in endorsing the measure.
House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva, D-Ariz., led 17 members of Congress on Wednesday in introducing the resolution that recognizes the increasingly high-profile crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, according to the chair. In April, Grijalva noted, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced the creation of a Missing and Murdered Unit within.
Article content Previous Gallery Image A tree with red dresses made by the Construction and Fabrication class at St. John Paul II. PHOTO RANDY VANDERVEEN A drive-by art installation set up at Saint John Paul II High School on the city’s northside to commemorate Red Dress Day, May 5. The art work, like the day, was organized to remember Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women from across Canada. PHOTO RANDY VANDERVEEN Art work created by English students for Red Dress Day. PHOTO RANDY VANDERVEEN Rachelle Bell who is the indigenous liaison for St. John Paul II. Bell’s mask was created by students in the school’s technology class. PHOTO RANDY VANDERVEEN
Dozens of people marched through downtown Grand Rapids to raise awareness for the disproportionate number of Indigenous women murdered in the U.S. and Canada.