The City of Prince George has officially proclaimed May 5 as a "Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-spirit People."
The proclamation comes as an act of solidarity with Ladysmith, B.C., after a video was taken showing two men removing a red dress installation near Highway 1.
Red Dresses have been widely adopted as a symbol to raise awareness for murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls since Métis artist Jamie Black’s 2010 art project.
“Today the City of Prince George has stepped up to the plate,” said Tammy Miese, president of the Prince George Red Dress Society.
“It’s a wonderful day, today, that our city is standing up taking a stance against violence against women and Indigenous people and being able to provide a space for people to be a part of something bigger than themselves.”
Miese has been organizing Red Dress Day events in the city for the last five years, but said the day has special significance to her as her childhood best friend Kari Anne Gordon, went missing and was found murdered in 1998.
She is hoping Prince George’s proclamation will encourage other communities in B.C. to officially mark the day.
“I encourage other communities to stand together in solidarity to help provide a space for Indigenous communities and families to be able to have a red dress and not feel that it is going to be defaced or destroyed. That is not acceptable and that is what today is all about.”
Mayor Lyn Hall presented the proclamation at a small ceremony on the corner of Highway 16 and Ferry Avenue.
Hall commented on the significance of Highway 16, known as the Highway of Tears, as the location of many murders and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls dating back to the 1970s.
“It’s just important to recognize and it is important for us, as a community, to keep in mind the significance of Highway 16 and what has happened over the years,” said Hall.
“On behalf of the city of Prince George, I am very proud to be involved and continue to have conversations about how we want to reinforce what this particular day means.”
Wesley Mitchell, who organizes the UHNBC Indigenous Drumming Group, said the city’s proclamation goes straight to his heart.
His aunt Frances Brown went missing mushroom picking in 2017. In 2018, his sister-in-law Jessica Patrick went missing and her body was found 14 days later.
“I am here to stand for all of my family,” said Mitchell. “I want people to look at these faces and know they are lost but they can be found and there can be some healing and some justice.”
Newly elected Lheidli T’enneh Chief Dolleen Logan also attended and echoed the call for other communities to officially recognize the day.
“It’s important that our city and our Nations and our surrounding Nations all support this. I am hoping this sends a message to all the mayors in the cities from Alberta to Prince Rupert to get involved.”
The city’s proclamation encourages individuals to show their support on May 5 by wearing red and hanging a red dress in your window or yard leading up to May 5 and for one week after in honour of the thousands of Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people who have gone missing or been murdered.
