The bright red colours of dresses will symbolize a very important message. The CUPE local 5999 Aboriginal Council is collecting red dresses, with the ultimate goal of collecting 1,200 in total, to represent the number of murdered or missing Indigenous women in Canada.
“Once we have those dresses, we are going to take them to a rally in Toronto during the CUPE convention and hopefully display them there,” said Jodi Gosselin, chair of the CUPE local 5999 Aboriginal Council.
Alternate plans for the red dresses are to have a demonstration either in Weyburn or Regina on Tuesday, October 24, which is the vigil for missing and murdered Indigenous women.
“With each dress that we collect, I would also like to display the name and the picture of a missing or murdered Indigenous woman,” said Gosselin.
The Aboriginal Council is also planning for their upcoming celebration in honour of National Aboriginal Day, which will be held in Estevan on Wednesday, June 21. The event will celebrate the culture, traditions and contributions of First Nation, Métis and Inuit people. Local schools have been invited to attend the National Aboriginal Day celebrations. The event will run at Centennial Park, located at 811 Souris Avenue in Estevan, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Government of Canada has proclaimed June 21 as National Day of recognition for the Indigenous people of the country. This day also marks the summer solstice and the longest day of the year. It holds great significance to the Indigenous people of Canada and is often the day that many ceremonies and gatherings occur.
The Aboriginal Council is also promoting the New Dawn Sisters, a foundation that collects sanitary products for young girls who live on northern reserves who don’t have access to these products, or cannot afford them. “Often times, these girls are missing school because they don’t have the proper products,” said Gosselin. “There are many times when these girls have to make a decision of ‘do I eat?’ or purchasing these sanitary products.”
Any donations of sanitary products can be dropped off at the CUPE Local 5999 office on Third Street downtown Weyburn.
