About 75 red dresses lined Highway 16 near Carmel Drive on Sunday afternoon, each held up by someone bringing awareness to the over 1000 missing and murdered indigenous women.
The event was inspired by the REDress Project. It was Created by artist Jaime Black, who calls it “an aesthetic response” to all the Canadian women that have been taken and / or killed.
Organiser Tammy Meise’s first saw the display in Vancouver in 2014 and knew she needed to bring it north. She immediately thought of her childhood friend Kari Ann Gordon, who Meise says was “always the life of the party.”
Kari Ann was killed in 1997. Today’s event was organised in her memory.
“She can’t be forgotten, nor can all the other people that are affected, all the other families, all the other friends, all the other moms, all the other sisters, all those other people that are affected by such a tragic ending to somebodies life. They should never be forgotten.”
Each person standing on the highway’s gravel shoulder was honouring the cause as a whole, some with more personal connections than others. City councillor Susan Scott was supporting all those missing and murdered and was amazed by how many men, women, and children come out. Others, like Darlene McIntosh, were remembering individuals, in her case her nephew’s niece. There were a lot of stories and a lot of support, much more than Meise had expected. She said she would’ve been ecstatic if 25 people showed up.
“It’s kind of overwhelming but yet overwhelming with so much joy and happiness that so many other people are here to support and give back a voice to all missing and murdered indigenous women.”
Most of the attendees brought their own dresses, each unique. Some were long and silky, others were short and more casual, and a few were even decored with golden lace. Meise had some extras for those who came empty-handed (like a certain news reporter) but she kept a special one for herself.
“For me, this really represented Kari Ann. It’s fun. It just, to me… this is Kari.”
After the highway display, everyone brought their dresses to Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park for a vigil. The dresses were hung in the trees to dance freely in the wind.
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