05/05/2026
Today is Red Dress Day, and YWCA Peterborough Haliburton continues to stand with the family, friends, and communities of Missing and Murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals across the country (MMIWG2S).
Coined by Métis artist Jaime Black as "an aesthetic response to this critical national issue," Red Dress Day is not just a single day for action, but a reminder of the ongoing systemic violence of colonization in our country.
In Canada, more than six in ten, or 63%, of Indigenous women and girls have experienced physical or sexual assault in their lifetime. This statistic is disproportionately high, and signals the continued threats that Indigenous women face as a result of continuing harmful social structures.
Today, we honour the lives and legacies of MMIWG2S by listening to their stories and commemorating their ongoing strengths and spirit in our community.
If you would like to show visible support for Indigenous peoples in our community, join the Urban Indigenous Working Group at City Hall from 9:30am to 10:30am to "honour, share stories, and sing to the Spirits of the stolen Sisters."
For more information, visit: https://nogofc.ca
For more information about Red Dress Day, visit: https://www.jaimeblackartist.com/exhibitions
And, to learn more about Truth and Reconciliation, visit: https://nctr.ca/publications-and-reports/reports/
At YWCA Peterborough Haliburton, our vision is to cultivate a just, equitable, and inclusive community where all women, children, and gender-diverse people can thrive, and this is not possible while the active effects and structures of colonialism remain in our places of business, institutions, and cultural practices.
To all women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, we stand with you.
