By: Niveja Assalaarachchi, News Writer
On May 5, the SFU Indigenous Student Centre (ISC) hosted a community care circle on Burnaby Campus in honour of Red Dress Day, which commemorates Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit Peoples (MMIWG2S+) of Canada. The community care circle served as an opportunity to bead and offered Indigenous students a “space to rest.”
In a statement to The Peak, ISC’s Indigenous administration and events coordinator, Audrey Heath (Gitxsan Nation) said community care circles are spaces “created for Indigenous students, facilitated by ISC staff, counsellors, Elders, and caseworkers from the Sexual Violence Support and Prevention Office.” She shared the space was a way “to gather with community and participate in a way that feels right to the student, whether that includes sitting and listening, sharing with the group, participating in an activity or enjoying a meal.”
Red Dress Day was first commemorated in 2010 when Jaime Black, a Métis artist, opened the REDress Project, which featured art installations to visually recognize the systemically higher rates of violence against Indigenous women. The red dresses, which are often prominently displayed in public, serve as a symbolic reminder of the large number of victims who have been lost as result of this wide-ranging scale of violence.
Heath shared that community care circles are organized by the ISC on days that are particularly important to “honour and remember our community who have experienced harm or are no longer with us.” This occurs chiefly on four days: February 14, the Women’s Memorial March; May 5, the National Day of Awareness for MMIWG2S+; the Moose Hide Campaign, typically held in May; and September 30, the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
Heath explained it was important for the centre to hold care circles at these times, because “on these days we talk about a lot of difficult issues which can be emotional.
“Indigenous Peoples are often called to educate others about the truths of these days, which can cause further emotional labour on already difficult days.”
— Audrey Heath, coordinator of the SFU Indigenous Student Centre
Heath, while pointing out that events like these are a part of the university’s commitment to truth and reconciliation, emphasized the need for reconciliatory practices to emerge outside of Indigenous spaces.
The centre suggested attending an event that raises awareness about MMIWG2S+ and financially supporting organizations like the Native Women’s Association of Canada, Aboriginal Mother Centre Society, and the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, as ways to support MMIWG2S+.
The center also suggested reading through the National Inquiry on MMIWG2S’s final report, alongside wearing red on May 5.
For more information, visit www.sfu.ca/students/indigenous/events/red-dress-day.html
