Smiths Falls Red Dress Day included personal tributes, testimony and calls for continued action
Red dresses swayed in the breeze outside Smiths Falls Town Hall on May 9 as community members gathered for the 10th annual Red Dress Day ceremony honouring missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
Hosted by Flora Riley, the ceremony blended remembrance, personal testimony and calls for continued action to address violence against Indigenous women and girls across Canada.
For Riley, the event remains deeply personal.
Her sister, Daphne Mesher Brown, was murdered by her husband more than 50 years ago, just weeks before her 24th birthday.
During the ceremony, Riley’s daughter Shannon read a tribute written by family member Eldred A. Mesher in 2011, recounting Daphne’s life as a young Indigenous mother from Paradise River, Labrador, whose abusive marriage ended in tragedy.
The tribute described Daphne as kind, devoted to her children and loved for her singing voice and generous spirit.
“Every one of these victims were loved. They were daughters, mothers, sisters and friends,” said Smiths Falls Mayor Shawn Pankow during his remarks.
Pankow referenced ongoing concerns surrounding the pace of implementation connected to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and called for continued awareness and action.
“Canada needs to do better,” he said. “By being here today to acknowledge, understand, remember and honour, we can all do our own small part to push for change.”
Riley’s daughter Dawn Marie also spoke about the Red Dress Project, created in 2010 by Métis artist Jaime Black.
“The red dress is swinging in the wind, each one representing a woman who is no longer around to wear it,” she said.
She described the installation as both a memorial and a visual reminder of Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people who have gone missing or been murdered across Canada.
Ginger Jenner spoke on behalf of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples in place of CEO Jim Devoe, who was unable to attend.
Jenner acknowledged the emotional toll carried by families and survivors and thanked Riley for continuing to organize the annual event.
“We remember every sister, every mother, every friend whose life was taken,” Jenner said. “Their lives mattered. Their voices are not forgotten.”
Smiths Falls Police Chief Jodi Empey also addressed the crowd, acknowledging historic failures surrounding missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and stressing the need for continued collaboration between police, victim services and community organizations.
“I’d like to say the statistics are dwindling down for intimate partner violence, but they are not,” Empey said.
She pointed to the importance of prevention, education and healthy relationships, adding that police alone cannot solve the issue.
“It takes a village,” she said. “Don’t remain silent. Call your police. Call victim services.”
The ceremony closed with participants reflecting on the lives lost, the families still searching for justice and the importance of continuing conversations around awareness, prevention and reconciliation.
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