Red garments, posters, and messages flutter in the wind in front of the Okotoks town hall on May 5, 2022.

Today is Red Dress Day, a national day of awareness and a day to honour and grieve Missing and Murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2S. The clothing, handprints, and posters serve as stand-ins for Indigenous women and girls who, across Canada as well as the United States, are taken and/or murdered at unrelenting rates.

Several signs appeared in the early morning as well as red ribbons around trees up and down Elizabeth Street.

Red Dress Day started as the 'REDress Project' established by Indigenous artist Jamie Black to focus on the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women in 2010. The dresses are empty, to evoke the missing women who should be wearing them.

Those interested in learning more can follow the hashtags below or learn about the movement on Jamie Black's website.

#MMIWG, #MMIWG2S, #RedDressDay, #WhyWeWearRed, and #NoMoreStolenSisters