May 5th is the National Day of Awareness and Remembrance of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People (also known as “Red Dress Day”). There is a significant need for continuous reflection, action and learning to happen as we hold space on this day for those who have gone missing, and to recognize the ongoing and disproportionate violence experienced by Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit People.
It is through changemakers like Jaime Black, that this day is now synonymous with a red dress. An installation art project that serves as a visual representation of over 1000 stolen lives to stop people in their tracks and get their attention, to spring follow-up questions that will then hopefully lead to research and action.
The REDress Project now has many different set-ups throughout North America, where the empty red dresses that are hung up, serve as a reminder of the gendered and racialized atrocities that have been and continue to be committed against Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People.
Each year on May 5th it is our responsibility as a nation to hold space and reflect on a day full of sorrow and tremendous loss for Indigenous communities. We must commit to remembrance and meaningful action to honour those who have been lost and the families and communities who continue to grieve and are forever impacted.
To fully comprehend the magnitude and severity of these violent crimes and what this day means, we each have a responsibility to listen, learn and stand alongside those who are affected. We can begin this work in our own communities by raising awareness and confronting the realities of intergenerational trauma, systemic marginalization and discrimination and by working to disrupt the systems that allow them to persist.
At CUPS, we walk alongside each member of our community in every facet of health including intergenerational, multi-generational, and complex trauma. As an organization that is committed to providing wraparound support to members of Indigenous communities, we are working towards responding to the calls for Justice related to health and wellness service providers to ensure CUPS services are accessible and effective. Honouring the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S) is part of that commitment.
We encourage every Calgarian to hold space for this day in whatever way feels most meaningful and intentional. It’s important to show allyship and take part in cultural and ceremonial experiences that are offered throughout the city. Attending events, deepening your learning, or taking time for personal reflection are all ways to show up for this day with thoughtfulness and to honour those impacted.
Please refer to some of these Calgary specific events to show up for May 5th:
The 2026 Red Dress Powwow:
2026 Red Dress Powwow | Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary
MMIWG2S+ Walk – Enviros Social Services
MMIWG2S+ Walk – Enviros Social Services Calgary
Red Dress Day Calgary 2026 MMEIP Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1033003220113887/user/61573253035551
Calgary Public Library Resources:
https://www.calgarylibrary.ca/connect/indigenous-services/mmiwg2s
If you feel that you would like to expand your general knowledge surrounding this day and what it means, please see the resources below that will give further insight into the significance of May 5th:
YouTube Videos
National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Releases Final Report
4 Years After the Final Report, what progress has been made?
Our sisters in Spirit (MMIWG documentary)
Online Website Resources
This site provides several resources regarding the final report, MMIWG2S & redress movement. You can also print or virtually download the 231 calls for Justice: https://familysurvivorscircle.ca/calls-for-justice/
This is the artist who started the Red Dress Project and her site that provides deeper context as to why she started and how it’s recognized across Canada:
Books and Films
Highway of Teams (Film and book)
Stolen Sisters by Emmanuelle Walter
Colonial Problem by Lisa Monchalin
Support Line:
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