'A very heavy day': Dozens attend Red Dress Day ceremony in Pitt Meadows

Red dresses dotted šxʷhék̓ʷnəs, or Spirit Square, in Pitt Meadows Sunday to honour the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in Canada.

Red dresses dotted šxʷhék̓ʷnəs, or Spirit Square, in Pitt Meadows Sunday to honour the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in Canada.

Dozens of community members attended a ceremony hosted in the square. The empty garments served as a symbol of lives that have been lost. The event included traditional songs from members of the Katzie First Nation, jingle dancing and powerful words from Elder Colleen Pierre.

Pierre said she will advocate for MMIWG2S until she takes her last breath.

“There won’t come a day where all the dark moments – they’ll never go away,” she said. “But I have five beautiful granddaughters that I want to do my best to make sure that their life isn’t even close to what I have lived. It’s not too much to ask for, is it?”

Pierre added she wants all levels of government to act – to ensure justice is served for the families waiting on answers from police and government agencies.

“This is serious,” she said. “Sometimes the truth hurts, but we’re going to keep addressing it.”

Glenda Morin with the Fraser River Indigenous Society said it was an emotional day.