Monday marks the 15th anniversary of the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, two-spirit and LGBTQ+ people (MMIWG2S+), also known as Red Dress Day.
The annual event serves as an acknowledgement that, according to Statistics Canada, Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse people in Canada are 12 times more likely to go missing or be murdered than non-Indigenous women.
Red Dress Day started in 2010, when Métis artist Jamie Black hung hundreds of red dresses to honour MMIWG2S+.Since then, it has taking place every May 5 as more groups started similar initiatives.
The City of Fort St. John is lighting up Centennial Park Stage in red to recognize Red Dress Day. A walk organized by the Fort St. John Metis Society will take place Monday at Centennial Park starting at 1pm.
In Dawson Creek, a march will be held at the N.A.R Park. The march will begin shortly after 5pm and end at the Northern Lights College with a meal and community ceremony.