Student Life
Red Dress Day
May 5 is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, widely recognized as Red Dress Day. It is a day to recognize, honour and raise awareness about this national tragedy. Here at Shawnigan, we marked this day through focused teaching and conversation in classrooms, by wearing red as a whole community, through an educational display in the library, and by hanging red dresses around campus. We did this to remember the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people and to honour their families and communities.
During lunch, Noelani Avveduti, athletic therapist at Shawnigan, shared these powerful words with the whole School:
I am here today to bring awareness to “Why we wear red?” Today we wear red to recognize the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Transgendered, and Two-Spirited.
Today we wear red:
- to raise awareness for our Indigenous relatives
- to call attention to the invisible and the silenced
- to welcome the spirit of those who are lost; to allow them to be felt, heard, and not forgotten
- to call attention to the disproportionate rate of violence against Indigenous people
- to call attention to Indigenous women like me
- who are 3 times more likely to be a victim of violence
- who are 12 times more likely to become a victim of homicide
- for the 11% of missing women in Canada
- because violence against Indigenous people is systemic and a national crisis
- to eventually lead to collaborative action and change
Today we wear red so Indigenous women like me will be remembered.
I am here today to bring awareness to “Why we wear red?” Today we wear red to recognize the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Transgendered, and Two-Spirited.
Today we wear red:
- to raise awareness for our Indigenous relatives
- to call attention to the invisible and the silenced
- to welcome the spirit of those who are lost; to allow them to be felt, heard, and not forgotten
- to call attention to the disproportionate rate of violence against Indigenous people
- to call attention to Indigenous women like me
- who are 3 times more likely to be a victim of violence
- who are 12 times more likely to become a victim of homicide
- for the 11% of missing women in Canada
- because violence against Indigenous people is systemic and a national crisis
- to eventually lead to collaborative action and change
Today we wear red so Indigenous women like me will be remembered.
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful West Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
