A Bon Accord family is honouring missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Penny Frazier and her family started hanging red dresses in the trees of their yard five years ago. May 5 is Red Dress Day in Canada, also known as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
The event began in 2010 to draw attention to the tragedy.
“It’s always been something that has touched me very deeply, the missing and murdered Indigenous women,” said Fraizer.
“My husband's grandmother went to a residential school, and his mother was raised on a trapline. Our kids are Metis, and as a family, [we] think it’s a really important issue.”
According to a 2017 report from Statistics Canada, Indigenous women make up 16 per cent of all female homicide victims and 11 per cent of missing women. Indigenous people only make up 4.3 per cent of the population of Canada.
Fraizer explained the Town of Bon Accord gave the family permission to hang dresses anywhere on town property, and residents are increasingly supportive of the initiative.
“It’s just really, really heart-warming, and it gives me a lot of hope to see more and more red dresses every year.”
Oak Hill Ranch, on the corner of Highway 28 and Range Road 240, also allowed the family to hang red dresses on the corner of the highway.