Red Dress hangs on the wall at Medicine Hat College

By Lisa Parent

‘They’re somebody’s daughters’: Medicine Hat College marks Red Dress Day on Sunday

May 3, 2024 | 5:01 PM

Sunday is Red Dress Day, also known as National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People.

Statistics Canada found last year that the homicide rate for Indigenous women and girls was six times higher than the rate for their non-Indigenous counterparts.

“A lot of times people don’t care until it’s happened to them, or they’ve experienced it,” said Chasity Cairns, the manager for Indigenous engagement at Medicine Hat College.

The college is hosting an event to commemorate the day, featuring an Indigenous prayer, a one kilometer awareness walk, a guest speaker and an honour song.

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“Any time we are learning it’s always good to have an open heart and open mind,” Cairns said.

Cairns said the day is an opportunity for education while also supporting people who have lost family or friends.

She added that just showing up for the event is massive.

“They’re somebody’s daughters. They were somebody’s mothers or grandmothers,” Cairns explained.

The event will take place outside the Medicine Hat College campus from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on May 5.