What is the Sisters in Spirit initiative?

The Sisters in Spirit initiative, a campaign that the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) launched in March 2004 to raise awareness about the high rates of racialized and sexualized violence against Aboriginal women received, in May 2005, the announcement of $5 million in funding over five years (2005-2010).

What does MMIWG2S mean?

#MMIW, #MMIWG and #MMIWG2S has been increasingly proliferating the internet, both in the United States and abroad. The abbreviations stand for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women; Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls; and Missing and Murdered Women, Girls and 2-Spirit People, respectively.

How do I support MMIW?

Safely attend an event, prayer circle or candlelight vigil hosted in your community, if any are taking place. Post a list of women missing from your community. Create a memorial for those lost or no longer with us. Register to participate in the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center webinar.

When did the Red Dress project begin?

Red Dress Day started on May 5, 2010, as an offshoot of a project by Métis artist Jaime Black, with the red dresses meant to draw attention to missing and murdered Indigenous women across Canada and United States.

What Their Stories Tell Us NWAC?

In March 2010, the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) released the report What Their Stories Tell Us, which provided evidence that 582 Aboriginal (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) women and girls have gone missing or been murdered in Canada over the last generation.

What is families of Sisters in Spirit?

Families of Sisters in Spirit is a grassroots volunteer organization led by families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) is a national organization representing Aboriginal women since 1974.

What is a two spirit person?

“Two-Spirit” is a term used within some Indigenous communities, encompassing cultural, spiritual, sexual and gender identity. The term reflects complex Indigenous understandings of gender roles, spirituality, and the long history of sexual and gender diversity in Indigenous cultures.

What does the red hand mean MMIW?

The powerful image of a red handprint has come to symbolize the Missing Murdered Indigenous Women movement as a way to represent the thousands of women who have been silenced. Beyond politics and detective work, the handprint has found its way into art and fashion as a way to raise awareness.

What do red dresses hanging in trees mean?

The on-going project began in 2010 and commemorates missing and murdered indigenous women from the First Nations, Inuit, Métis (FNIM), and Native American communities by hanging empty red dresses in a range of environments.

What do the red dresses symbolize?

Red dress day is a day of honouring missing and murdered Indigenous people. It’s a day to raise awareness and education about missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, two spirited, and men. The dresses are empty, so that they evoke the missing women who should be wearing them.

What has NWAC achieved?

NWAC remains at the forefront of civil rights work in Canada, working to promote education, health care, violence prevention and safety for Indigenous women, as well as reducing the poverty, mental illness and incarceration experienced by Indigenous peoples across the country.