Every May 5th since 2010, Red Dress Day has been observed in communities across the country and the Cariboo.
Today the Cariboo Friendship Society will be hosting a missing and murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Annual Awareness Day starting at 1 on the upper level of the Stampede Grounds parking lot.
Executive Director Rosanna McGregor said it’s important for people to know what this day is about.
“Overall more than 6 in 10 Indigenous women experience either physical or sexual assault in their lifetime since the age of 15. Almost two-thirds of First Nation and Metis women experience violent victimization in their lifetime and so this really is an awareness campaign.”
McGregor added that the call to action challenges us to make sure that we keep this awareness campaign going and that’s precisely what the Cariboo Friendship Society is trying to do.
“We’re going to have a gathering today (Thursday), and everyone is welcome, to have an honouring of our people, raising awareness and healing.” McGregor said, “So we’re going to have a Sacred Fire. We usually send our prayers to Creator on the smoke from a tobacco tie and so that’s what we would invite by putting tobacco ties into the fire. We’re also going to be doing the Red Rock Memory Garden, we’ll have rocks there you could write a message to a loved one or put someone’s name down you want to honour and remember and we’ll put that into our Memory Garden on Oliver Street.”
Also today (Thursday) from noon until four the Quesnel Tillicum Society Friendship Centre invites everyone to join them in observing Red Dress Day.
Something going on in the Cariboo you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing cariboonews@vistaradio.ca.
