Empty red dresses hung throughout Brock University, paired with a day of learning on campus, will honour missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people this week. Organized by Brock’s Vice-Provost, Indigenous Engagement, the Hadiya’dagénhahs First Nations, Métis and Inuit Student Centre and Niagara College, the initiative will see dresses hung at the University’s main campus and its Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, as well as at Niagara College, from now until Friday, Feb. 16. The display is part of the REDress Project, an initiative that began as an art installation by Métis artist Jaime Black at the University of Winnipeg in 2011 to signify the loss of thousands of Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit, lesbian, gay, trans, bisexual, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual people to colonial violence.
A related in-person event will be held at Brock’s Pond Inlet on Wednesday, Feb. 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gathering will include songs, a panel discussion, a catered lunch, a jingle dress dance, participatory workshops and further exploration of the day’s significance throughout the afternoon.
Robyn Bourgeois, Brock’s Vice-Provost, Indigenous Engagement, will lead a workshop that will use faceless dolls to raise awareness of those who are missing or have been murdered.
Additional information and registration details for the Wednesday, Feb. 14 event can be found on the REDress Day 2024 ExperienceBU page.
