Red Dress Day 2025 – Remembering those Missing
Written by Chloe Thomas and Cynthia Lung | Date: May 5, 2025
Red Dress Day 2025
On May 5, 2025—the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, 2-Spirit, and gender-diverse people (MMIWG2S+) across Turtle Island—we mark the 15th anniversary of honouring the lives lost to gender-based violence. This day calls us to remember and uplift their stories, to raise awareness, and to renew our commitment to ending this crisis.
The 2019 MMIWG2S+ report featured hundreds of survivor and family testimonials, exposing the disproportionate rates of violence faced by Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people: higher victimization, domestic abuse, and overrepresentation in incarceration. By spotlighting these systemic injustices rooted in colonial structures, the report has galvanized calls for institutional accountability, structural reforms, and sustained advocacy to protect and support Indigenous communities.You can learn more by reading the Final Report on the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
The 2019 MMIWG2S+ report featured hundreds of survivor and family testimonials, exposing the disproportionate rates of violence faced by Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people: higher victimization, domestic abuse, and overrepresentation in incarceration. By spotlighting these systemic injustices rooted in colonial structures, the report has galvanized calls for institutional accountability, structural reforms, and sustained advocacy to protect and support Indigenous communities.You can learn more by reading the Final Report on the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Why wear red?
Red Dress Day originates from the REDdress art installation by Métis artist Jamie Black. This art installation hangs, empty, red dresses to represent the missing and murdered women, girls, 2 Spirit, and gender diverse people in communities across Turtle Island. Red dresses have become the national symbol of the crisis as a result of her installation. For more information on how this began, check out the UBC Learning Circle with Jaime Black-Morsette.
Wearing red is a symbolic action to draw attention to the issue of MMIWG2S+. The color red is believed by some Indigenous cultures to be a powerful color that can connect with the spiritual world. The artist chose the colour red after speaking with an Indigenous friend who told her that is the only colour spirits can see. Red dresses are used to call the spirits of their past loved ones, as a way to remember and honour them. Wearing red dresses, ribbons, or other red items serve as a way to honor those who have been taken from their communities and to demand justice and accountability for the violence committed against them.
What can I do on May 5 to show support?
- Wear red to show solidarity
- Attend vigils, marches, community events honouring MMIWG2S+
- Educate yourself and your community on MMIWG2S+ issues
- Donate to Indigenous-led organizations and support voices
Resources
- Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
- Red Dress Day – Emily Gwiazda
- National Indigenous Resource Centre – Jacqueline Agtuca
- Red Dress Day – Government of Alberta
Wearing red is a symbolic action to draw attention to the issue of MMIWG2S+. The color red is believed by some Indigenous cultures to be a powerful color that can connect with the spiritual world. The artist chose the colour red after speaking with an Indigenous friend who told her that is the only colour spirits can see. Red dresses are used to call the spirits of their past loved ones, as a way to remember and honour them. Wearing red dresses, ribbons, or other red items serve as a way to honor those who have been taken from their communities and to demand justice and accountability for the violence committed against them.
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