Recognizing Red Dress Day — National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGTBQIA+ on May 5, 2024
Story provided by Chelsea Isenor, Director, Communications and Board Administration
In the 2022-2027 District Strategic Plan, we are committed to students developing a sense of cultural safety and humility in communities so every learner can feel safe and thrive personally and culturally.
On Sunday, May 5, 2024, we encourage everyone to take a moment to honour Red Dress Day and remember the countless Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people who have experienced disproportionate violence in Canada. This year’s National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGTBQIA+ was honoured by several Kamloops-Thompson School District schools on Friday, May 3, with students, teachers, school leaders, and administrators encouraged to wear red, displaying red clothing, and create impactful and education displays.
The beginnings of Red Dress can be traced back to a powerful art installation. In 2010, Métis artist Jaime Black hung hundreds of red dresses in public spaces as a way to bring awareness to missing and murdered Indigenous women.
At Valleyview Secondary, a Red Dress display hung in the library as a reminder of a day which may be difficult for some students to talk about.
Through the Mind Medicine program, supported by the YMCA, Valleyview Secondary is able to offer mental wellness support and tools—such as breathing techniques, mindfulness tools, and connections with others—on days like Red Dress Day and throughout the school year. Valleyview Principal Cory Carmichael says this program helps students “develop the tools and resilience to manage their emotions around days like Red Dress Day and everyday.”
When chatting with a group of Valleyview students who participated in the Mind Medicine program, they described the experience as a safe space where they could learn to manage their anxiety and stress while connecting with new people. A student named Lily shared, “It has helped me through so much stuff, and knowing that I wasn’t going through things alone and that I can connect on different levels with different people…it was very inspiring.”
“Yesterday I had a conversation around my desk with a couple of girls about the Red Dress and it got really somber at some points, but it was nice because they were able to actually speak exactly what they wanted to say, so it is a safe space for them,” stated Aboriginal Education Worker MJ Johnson. “I was happy they felt safe enough that they could come in here.”
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