Spirit Square will be the site of a solemn ceremony on Friday as community members flock down to participate in the Red Dress Day ceremony being hosted by the City of Pitt Meadows.
This national day of awareness is aimed at recognizing the many missing and murdered Indigenous women in every community across the continent, and properly honouring this event is very important for the city, said Mayor Nicole MacDonald.
“Red dresses have been hung up throughout šxʷhék̓ʷnəs (Spirit Square) as a powerful reminder of the more than 1,000 missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people in Canada,” said MacDonald.
“We honour and recognize the many lives that have been lost at the hands of violence.”
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Members of Katzie First Nation will be at Spirit Square to sing songs, while members of the Fraser River Indigenous Society will be performing smudging.
There will be several other Indigenous art forms on display as well, explained Director of Parks, Recreation and Culture, Diane Chamberlain.
“The ceremony will also include a traditional dance from the Squamish Nation Veterans Jr Powwow Princess, Sariah, from the Squamish and Sto:lo Nation, and two songs by Saquilty from Sts’ailes First Nation with Sasquatch dancers, Harmony and Addy,” said Chamberlain.
The Red Dress Day ceremony will take place at Spirit Square, 11985 Harris Rd., from 1 to 2 p.m. on Friday, May 5.
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