An opening ceremony was held Wednesday for a new exhibit at the Hamilton Public Library that commemorates missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
The exhibit, titled “Missing,” is a visual display of 21 red dresses that’s set up in the first floor living room in the city’s central library.
It’s meant to bring the community together in solidarity to reflect on the ongoing national crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and LGBTQ2S+ people.
Included among the dresses are stories of 12 victims, a symbolic representation of the all-too many Indigenous women and girls in Canada harmed by violence.
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The manager of Hamilton’s Indigenous relations team, Beth Dockstator, says the calls to justice are very clear on how we can work together as a community to bring awareness to this issue and heighten education.
“We need to bring a broader understanding to the issue of what’s going in our communities, and heighten the awareness of how many missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people there are,” Dockstator says.
The display is in place until May 15 and was installed by the city’s Indigenous relations team in partnership with the Hamilton Public Library.
For more information about the exhibit and MMIWG2S Day, held each year on May 5, visit this website.