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New Brunswick·Ann's Eye

Students craft ahead of Red Dress Day

Students from UNB and STU made beaded pins, painted rocks and tobacco ties at the Mi'kmaq-Wolastoqey Centre in Fredericton.

Red Dress Day is on May 5

CBC News ·
A young person with dark, curly hair stands next to an older woman wearing glasses and a red cardigan.
Students from the University of New Brunswick attended a crafting event focused on Red Dress Day, which will take place on May 5 this year. (Ann Paul/CBC)

This is part of a series called Ann's Eye, featuring the work of Ann Paul, a Wolastoqey content creator. You can see more Ann's Eye pieces by clicking here.

Just one day is not enough to capture the loss of Indigenous women, Ann Paul says.

Red Dress Day, held on May 5 this year, aims to bring awareness to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, often referred to as MMIWG. 

"The numbers alone are higher than other people across Canada, and those are just the reported numbers," she said. "Many more go uncounted due to mistrust in the system."

WATCH | What students created for Red Dress Day: 

Students make art for Red Dress Day

8 months ago
Duration 1:13
University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University students gathered at the Mi'kmaq-Wolastoqey Centre in Fredericton to make beaded pins, painted rocks and tobacco ties for a Red Dress Day march taking place on May 5.

Students gathered at the Mi'kmaq-Wolastoqey Centre in Fredericton to make crafts ahead of a march planned for Red Dress Day. Ann Paul said having events leading up to the actual day helps spread even more awareness. 

"We the Indigenous people will never forget you. We are one, we are family, we will always light the candle so you can find your way home."

A table in the shape of a hexagon is cluttered with crafting supplies and several, palm-sized stones.
If crafters did not wish to bead, they could paint rocks to place along the ground during a walk for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls for Red Dress Day. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A young, bespectacled person wearing a jean jacket over a floral-print green shirt smiles and holds up a brown square of cloth with a white feather on it.
Crafters could choose to bead a feather, a red dress or a hand for Red Dress Day. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A young, bespectacled person with long dark hair and wearing a beige sweater crafts at a table.
Ann Paul says that for some students, it was their first time beading. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A group of people sit at a table in the shape of a hexagon doing various beading.
Ann Paul says it's important to have events about Red Dress Day leading up to the day itself. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A smiling woman with long, dark hair holds up a miniature red dress made of beads.
Ann Paul prefers the red dress symbol over the hand. She wants to help women reclaim their voices and take the hand away, not give it power. 'I like putting light out to people,' she says, adding she understands everyone's opinion about it is different. (Ann Paul/CBC)

Ann's Eye

Photographer Ann Paul brings an Indigenous lens to stories from First Nations communities across New Brunswick. Click here or on the image below to see more of her work. 

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