The REDress Project: Installation & Panel Discussion

Update on the REDress Project from the Reconciliation Working Group (RWG):

We are heartbroken to inform the CAMH community that many of the dresses installed as part of the REDress Project, in honor of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit Peoples, were vandalized. For many of you who wanted to visit the dresses but couldn’t locate them, we share in your disappointment. This vandalism is a fitting symbol of the reality of gender-based and racialized violence faced by First Nations, Inuit and Métis women, girls and Two-Spirit peoples. We feel violated, but also motivated to continue our work on truth and reconciliation. The RWG is committed to restorative relationships and we feel ever more committed to continuing this work with our colleagues and the public. The gender-based and racialized violence that is normalized in our society hurts all of us. 

Cynthia White, Traditional Healer, Aboriginal Service, held a ceremony and blessed each dress before the installation and afterwards. She has provided these words:

“The spirit was invoked to touch the hearts and minds of the people so their voices could not only be heard, but felt. They were also asked to convey a message to all. The closing ceremony for the dresses was to bless them and thank the spirit for the time they were with us.  

Messages are not always given in ways we desire. The Sacredness of women, girls and two-spirit peoples are not upheld by a large portion of society and are often viewed as dispensable. The Spirit asks us to not weep for them because they have now found the love and peace they could not obtain while living. We are asked to pity and pray for the healing of those who would commit such acts as to cause women, girls and two-spirit peoples to become missing or murdered, here and across the earth. The Spirit also challenges us to raise our boys to become men of honour, filled with love and kindness, and to know the Sacredness of a Woman.”

Original article below:

From December 3 to 8, CAMH will host an outdoor installation of the REDress Project across the CAMH Queen Street site. The REDress Project is an art installation of red dresses created by multidisciplinary artist of mixed Anishinaabe and Finnish descent  Jaime Black in 2010 as a way to bring awareness to the ongoing tragedy of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit Peoples from gender and race-based violence in Canada, and throughout North America.

Jaime has said “through the installation of red dresses, I hope to draw attention to the gendered and racialized nature of violent crimes against Aboriginal women and to evoke a presence through the marking of absence. The Red Dress installation has travelled across Canada and the United States and is on permanent display at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg, Canada.” Each empty red dress on a hanger symbolizes a lost life for an Indigenous woman or girl. 

According to the Native Women’s Association of Canada, Indigenous women are almost three times more likely to be killed by a stranger than non-Indigenous women, and nearly half of these cases remain unsolved. 

On December 6 from 12:00 to 1:30, please join us for MMIWG2S+ Voices: Indigenous Healing and Resistance, an event presented by the CAMH Reconciliation Working Group to spotlight the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit Peoples. 

This panel event, taking place on the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, will feature Jaime Black, Terrellyn Fearn, Snake Clan and member of Glooscap First Nation, Co-Director of Turtle Land Institute and former Director of Outreach and Support Services for the Canadian National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and Renee Linklater, member of Rainy River First Nations, Senior Director, Shkaabe Makwa, CAMH.

It will be moderated by Lori Spadorcia, SVP Public Affairs and Partnerships and Chief Strategy Officer, CAMH, and will include remarks from Tracey MacArthur, President and CEOof CAMH and a traditional opening from Diane Longboat, Senior Manager, Strategic Initiatives, Shkaabe Makwa, CAMH.

We hope you will participate in this opportunity for learning and reflection by attending the panel event on December 6, and the installation at our Queen Street Site from December 3 to 8. 

If you are interested in learning more about this project or themes regarding MMIWG2S+, there will be takeaway materials at any Queen Street Site or College Street Site CAMH Information desk.

This campaign was developed through the generous support of the Caring for CAMH Committee.