A walk is being held in Prince George today (Friday), in recognition of Red Dress Day, the national day of awareness for missing and murdered indigenous women and girls and two-spirit people.
It begins at 3 pm from the PG RCMP detachment and will conclude at Cottonwood Island Park.
Tammy Miese who is the President of the PG Red Dress Society is pleased the city is standing in solidarity with other communities like Ladysmith on Vancouver Island.
“I am very happy that my community, our community of Prince George has always been really wonderful for stepping up and being a part of something bigger than themselves.”
“A few years back, the community of Ladysmith put up a red dress display and it was ripped down and defaced. The mayor of Ladysmith then decided that was not OK and reached out to other communities in BC and asked if we would stand in solidarity.”
For Miese, the topic hits really close to home.
“I lost my childhood best friend Kerryanne Gordon to this horrific issue. She was not murdered along the Highway of Tears but she nevertheless was the victim to violence.”
Earlier this week, Ottawa endorsed a Red Dress Alert proposal that was tabled by Skeena-Bulkley MP Taylor Bachrach and fellow NDP MP Leah Gazan.
The alert would be like the current Amber Alert system for abducted children.
Their discussion came after Tuesday’s announcement that the federal government adopted Gazan’s motion to declare ongoing violence against Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people a national emergency.
In addition, BC Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Terry Teegee remembers and honours those who have been lost to systemic violence and calls for concrete improvements to prevention and response measures to create lasting change.
“Indigenous people are affected by the national crisis of MMIWG2S+ and we all have an important role to play in keeping our families, friends and communities safe. All Canadians and levels of government must also take steps to dismantle and address colonialism, racism, and sexism, which are the underlying causes of the disproportionate violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. In particular, I’m calling on the governments of BC and Canada to partner with First Nations, families, and advocates to ensure that concrete and meaningful progress is made on each of the immediate and short-term priorities identified in the National Action Plan, and for sustainable and adequate capacity funding for all Indigenous partners so that this work can be advanced in alignment with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,”
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