Wilfrid Laurier University participates in Red Dress Day

May 1, 2024

Wilfrid Laurier University is honouring the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit (MMIWG2S+) individuals in Canada by participating in the Red Dress Initiative on May 5. Departments on all campuses are invited to display red dresses in their work areas. Cards attached to the dresses will have links to information about MMIWG2S+ and reconciliation.

The Red Dress Initiative at Laurier builds on The REDress Project, an installation of red dresses by Jamie Black, an artist of mixed Anishinaabe and Finnish descent. Red dresses, without someone to wear them, symbolize lives lost to colonial violence and the pain experienced by loved ones and survivors. 

Participating in the Red Dress Initiative at Laurier is an opportunity for the university community to engage in learning, reconciliation and allyship. Laurier is proud to foster a community that embraces Indigenous initiatives as part of its institutional identity and, as an educational institution, is committed to addressing the legacy of harm caused by colonial policies and practices. 

In addition to Red Dress Day on May 5, Laurier also participates in the Red Dress Initiative on other dates of national significance, including the Women’s Memorial March on Feb. 14, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30, and the National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls on Oct. 4.