Thursday, May 9, 2024
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VOLUME 6 I ISSUE 46
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Red Dress marchers full of hope
Geoff Lee Meridian Source
Roughly 200 people took part in the Red Dress Day march from City Hall on Friday to honour missing, murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people. The event kicked off with a pipe ceremony at the Native Friendship Centre. GEOFF LEE STAFF WRITER
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Awareness is the takeaway message of hope from this year’s Red Dress Day march in Lloydminster. About 200 people took part in the march from City Hall to the Native Friendship Centre on Friday carrying a banner in honour of Missing and Murdered
Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People. “It’s sombre, but it’s also hopeful. We’re bringing awareness,” said Lori Harris, education coordinator at the friendship centre following a pipe ceremony attended by about 90 people. “As soon as you bring awareness, it brings
hope for the families who do have someone missing or someone who has passed.” That is certainly the case for some First Nations students from Holy Rosary High School who came with Cynthia Young, Indigenous program coordinator with the Lloydminster Catholic School Division.
“Lots of them have aunts that have been taken. Lots of them have a purpose to walk,” said Young. “The more awareness we can provide for our community and society, the more attention there might be on this tragic thing.” Grade 12 student Zoe Klarenbach has a sister who is a First Nation
student and she came to be more educated about Red Dress issues. “I really want to learn more about the missing and murdered Indigenous women crisis to help better to support my sisters. It’s important to have solidarity among women,” said Klarenbach. Red Dress Day, normally celebrated on May 5, is all about hope and healing for Chelsea Dieter from Peepeekisis First Nation in Saskatchewan on Treaty 4 territory. “I’m here to support the families and the people that are impacted by the missing and murdered Indigenous women and also for myself,” said Dieter. “I have a sister that passed on in 2013; she was killed and so our family did not get the justice we deserve. I walk with that every day, with that story on my back.” Dieter marched wearing a red dress and talked about how empowering that is for Indigenous people. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2