Dozens of people gathered in red outside the North Vancouver RCMP detachment Monday to honour missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) members, municipal councillors, police officers and members of the North Shore Coordinating Committee to End Violence Against Women in Relationships took part in a touching ceremony, placing red roses around the Strength and Remembrance pole to commemorate lost loved ones.
Monday's ceremony was just one of numerous that were held across the country. May 5 marks the annual national day of awareness of remembrance for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people (MMIWG2S), also known as Red Dress Day.
Squamish Nation elder Doris Paul (Xele’milh) said the Red Dress Day ceremony, which has been running in North Vancouver for six years, helps raise awareness.
“Majority of First Nations across Canada … we all know of someone who passed or was murdered or [something] directly happened to our family,” Paul said. “So there’s an emotion here at this ceremony that says we’re being heard.”
Paul and North Vancouver RCMP Sgt. Crystal Shostak created the local ceremony after the Strength and Remembrance pole was placed in 2019, hoping to create more awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Many people took to the microphone to share calls for justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, but also stories of loved ones, their late grandmothers and aunties, nieces and cousins.
“Today there are still missing Indigenous sisters, brothers, our cousins are stolen. Their lives deserve justice to be honoured and to be remembered,” said Squamish Nation member Lisa Paull. “We need to keep praying for their journey. We need to keep sharing their untold stories and we need to keep saying their names out loud.”
City of North Vancouver Mayor Linda Buchanan and District of West Vancouver Couns. Nora Gambioli and Linda Watt also spoke during the ceremony.
Tree branches outside the police station also held red dresses, symbolizing an artistic visual of the staggering number of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls across Canada. The red gowns are part of an art project Métis artist Jaime Black launched in 2010 as a way to bring awareness to MMIWG2S.
The gowns are red due to the belief in many First Nation communities that red is the only colour people see after moving into the spirit world, said Paul, adding that the roses are used as a gesture of love.
“People are dressing themselves up for the day in red because it’s a sacred colour as well,” Paul said, adding that drumming and singing during the ceremony also celebrates and honours those who have died.
But the national day of awareness also serves as a reminder of the gender-based violence still faced by many in the country.
In 2019 the National Inquiry’s Final Report listed 231 “calls for justice” to be taken by governments, institutions and Canadians.
The report found that Indigenous women are 12 times more likely to be murdered or missing than any other demographic in Canada, and between 2001 and 2015, homicide rates were nearly six times higher than for non-Indigenous women.
Tsleil-Waututh Nation Elected Chief Jen Thomas said Red Dress Day is a reminder of the report’s recommendations that still need to happen across the country.
“I think we have a job to ensure all those recommendations are being pushed through,” Thomas said. “I don’t think it’s being pushed enough, so I would like to see that happen across Canada.”
“Here in Vancouver, I’ve had friends who are missing still, and it’s sad that in 2025 we still have to ask for that respect of our people.”
But the day also gives people an opportunity to share their stories, Thomas said.
“I believe it gives a time for families and people to share what they’ve gone through. A lot of people won’t talk about it all the time, but this is a day that they get to share.”
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
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