Kelowna, B.C. marks Red Dress Day with downtown march

Canada is honouring missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls through Red Dress Day on Friday.

Red dresses are displayed to serve as visual reminders and marches are held to remember those who are missing.

Downtown Kelowna, B.C., was filled with red, as community members marched to honour those who are victims of this type of violence.

“Red is really spiritual to Indigenous communities and also the red is representing the violence as well, and to counterbalance that the love,” said Edna Terbasket, executive director of the Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society.

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May 5th is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-spirited People. The day has been observed since 2010 and since then, each event has garnered more support from the public.

“Having this awareness right across Canada and North America is huge for us. Because it brings that awareness that has been hidden for so long and it all started from residential school and that ripple effect comes into today,” said marcher Nicole Archie.

The Ki-Low-Na friendship society along with community members marched to the Kelowna courthouse while drumming and holding signs of those who are gone.

“I’m a niece of a murdered Indigenous woman, Rose Roper,” said Archie.

“She was brutally raped, murdered and the individuals that were responsible for her death, two of them were provided small fines and one was able to walk away free.”

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Marchers say this issue happens far too often in Indigenous communities and is one they’ve had to live with their whole lives.

“This is our reality as Indigenous women, men, boys, girls and two-spirited — this is our reality. We were born with the mindset and raised with the mindset that we have to be aware of the dangers, not out in the wilderness, in community,” Archie said.

Indigenous women and girls are 12 times more likely to be murdered or go missing than any other group in Canada.

“I couldn’t imagine that, like going to sleep every night wondering where is she. Is she alive? Is she ok? Has she been brutally assaulted or murdered,” said Terbasket.

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The friendship society hopes events like Friday’s march can prevent that number from growing.

“You can’t have too many, too many opportunities to be able to create a venue for awareness,” Terbasket said.