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“We are Manitobans and in Manitoba, we are the province with the highest Indigenous population [proportionally], so I feel that that kind of brings some responsibility to those of us that live in Manitoba to be aware of how this is affecting our neighbours.”
This is what Courtney Yeo-Thiessen, one of the organizers of the REDress Project in the Pembina Valley, has to say about why the community should be invested in the high rate of missing and murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) in the province and the country.
“Missing and murdered Indigenous women are very overrepresented in our system, and we need to do a better job of making sure that this doesn't happen moving forward,” she says.
The REDress Project
To spread awareness about MMIW, Yeo-Thiessen helps organize the REDress Project, which uses an artistic means to achieve its mission.
“[It’s] an art installation that we have borrowed from Jaimie Black, who is a Métis visual artist from Manitoba,” she says.
Black began the project. Yeo-Thiessen and her team contacted the artist to extend it to the Pembina Valley. She was happy to oblige, and since then, the project has begun to spread.
“We set up in different communities to make a visual impact and to get people asking questions about what the red dress means, what the topics are, and what’s happening,” she says. “It's just that visual piece that really pulls people in, and then we can have conversations.”
What conversation should we be having?
As for the types of themes that come up when one discusses MMIW, the main concern is that there is a disproportionate amount of missing or murdered Indigenous women.
Unfortunately, due to a few factors, it’s difficult to determine just how many Indigenous women have gone missing.
According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, while the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have reported an amount of 1,200 missing Indigenous women between 1980 and 2012, Indigenous groups put the number closer to 4,000.
However, because there is also suspected underreporting of missing women from this community and no official database to record numbers, the real numbers are not accessible.
For Yeo-Thiessen, police inaction surrounding disappearances in the Indigenous community could also impact underreporting.
“It's like they almost normalize ... that this group of people are just going to go missing,” she says.
Going beyond tragedy
While the REDress Project will highlight injustices that the Indigenous community faces, Yeo-Thiessen's project is also about more.
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The installations are also about community, building bonds, and hope.
“We're there as a group ... to answer any questions that people have,” she says. “Those conversations we have are sometimes difficult, but really important.”
Blanket exercise
In addition to the installation, there will also be a blanket exercise at each location of this year’s REDress displays.
“[It’s] a chance for people to kind of learn the history of Indigenous peoples and not just murdered and missing women and girls, but the history of Indigenous peoples in Canada to kind of better understand how it is that we got here,” says Yeo-Thiessen.
“Hopefully [participants] leave thinking about what they can do to move forward so that we're not continuing the cycle of violence that continues to happen,” she says.
“[Indigenous people] are dealing with so much generational trauma and hate and violence that sometimes they feel that it's easier for them to keep their voices quiet, and I think as their neighbours, we need to do a better job of building them up and allowing them a space to have their voice heard.”
The schedule for the REDress Project’s installation is as follows:
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Carman – Saturday, May 3rd, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Ryall Park
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Altona – Sunday, May 4th – 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Centennial Park
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Morden – Sunday, May 25th – 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Morden Park
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Winkler – Sunday, June 1st – 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Bethel Park
Anyone interested in attending the blanket exercise is encouraged to email pvredress@gmail.com.
The project is also accepting volunteers to help set up the installation designed to spread awareness for our missing and murdered neighbours.
With files from Jayme Giesbrecht and Ty Hildebrand