The National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People was marked in Pitt Meadows on Tuesday, May 5.
About 70 members of the community, city staff, school board trustees, members of council, and Mayor Nicole MacDonald, were at Spirit Square for the ceremony.
Clarissa Moody, from the Katzie First Nation, drummed an opening blessing at the beginning of the ceremony and a Women Warrior Song near the end.
MacDonald addressed the crowd, saying that wearing red on this day serves as a reminder to the more than 1,000 missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and those in the LGBTQIA2S+ community.
MacDonald told The News how important it is for the community to gather, create conversation, remembrance, and healing.
“We have the bigger, broader ceremony and the drumming and the song, which is important. But, you can do your own personal ceremony with a flower or the prayer tie, because everybody’s got different pieces to remember and acknowledge,” she added.
The day is also known as Red Dress Day, named by Metis artist Jaime Black who hung red dresses in public spaces to symbolize the national issue.
During the event, Coun. Tracy Elke recounted travelling the Highway of Tears while she lived in Prince George for work.
“There’s so many stolen sisters and missing Indigenous women and girls that are not even reported in the news, like we would hear about it if there was non-Indigenous women or girl missing. That’s the sad truth,” Elke told those gathered.
“Thousands have gone unreported, or not even talked about, not searched for in the media and in communities.”
At the end of the ceremony, those gathered laid red flowers beneath a Red Dress Display, and participated in smudging and prayer tie offerings in a ceremonial fire.
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