The Red Dress Awareness Day Ceremony took place earlier this afternoon at the Stampede grounds in Williams Lake.
The ceremony had a sacred fire to start off the ceremny, followed by songs, and prayers to the sacred fire. Tobacco ties and red paper with names were also placed into the fire for remembrance and to lift any grieving during the ceremony.
“I think it was a fabulous turnout today. It shows us that the awareness is an important topic for our community.” says Rosanna McGregor, Executive Director for the Cariboo Friendship Society.
“We had a lot of people that were able to take part in this ceremony, and to offer a prayer to the sacred fire.”
The awareness ceremony saw a great turnout with First Nations along with community residents.
“I think people need to remember that just because today is May 5th and tomorrow is May 6th, we want to make sure that they are continuing to be aware, and know what resources are available in our community.”
McGregor noted that a resource that’s available is the Chiwid Transition House.