Dozens of Manitobans march for change on Red Dress Day

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit people were remembered across Canada on Red Dress Day. CTV’s Joseph Bernacki reports.

On Red Dress Day, dozens of people walked downtown on Tuesday to The Forks to show support for missing and murdered Indigenous women.

“Losing a sister, not knowing where your sister is changes you as a person,” said MMIWG advocate Krista Fox.

“I know that I will never be that person again.”

Fox travelled to Winnipeg with Janine Morin. Ashley Morin, Janine’s sister, disappeared from North Battleford, Sask., in July 2018. Morin said she still thinks about her sister all the time.

“I look forward to looking at my phone to get a phone call or a message from her stating, ‘Hey, sister, you know it’s me.’ I dream about her every day,” Morin said.

While some families came together to remember, others called on the federal government for action.

A total of 409 families from across Canada have recently signed an open letter asking for a redirection of funds, saying money should flow to grassroots families and not advocacy organizations.

“I think that money needs to go to people that do the frontline work, that are out there searching for our women,” said MMIWG advocate Barb Guimond.

“I’m glad more people are coming forward because like I said, it’s the families themselves that are doing the work on their own.”

Guimond signed that letter and goes out looking for women here in our city to this day.

Her sister Stephanie Henderson from Sagkeeng First Nation was murdered in March 2004.

“She hugged me that time and gave me a kiss on the cheek and told me, ‘Thanks, Barb, for everything. I love you,’” Guimond said.

“That’s the last time we seen her alive.”

The letter names four organizations, including the Native Women’s Association of Canada, the National Family and Survivors Circle, Les Femmes Michif Otipemsiwak and Giganawenimmaanaanig.

The signing families argue that excessive administrative costs and high salaries within funded organizations are not doing enough to address the ongoing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

Instead, the families called on the federal government for a forensic audit of how funds have been allocated and used, suggesting it would reveal systemic dysfunction.

“High salaries and administrative processes do not alleviate the crisis; they prolong it,” the statement says in part.

CTV News reached out to all of the groups listed in the letter; none have responded to our requests for information.

“There’s so much bureaucracy right now with everything,” said MMIWG advocate Alaya McIvor.

“The people want to micromanage this movement when in reality, at the end of the day, the only ones that are helping each other are family members directly impacted and allies to the crisis that is continuing.”

McIvor also signed the letter and lives on Sandy Bay First Nation. Her friend Divas Boulanger went missing in September 2004 and was later found murdered.

She said it took three days to get 409 families together to sign it.

“We’re grassroots, and we’ve always been grassroots,” McIvor said.

CTV News also reached out to Indigenous Services Canada, which funds advocacy organizations, about the contents of the letter.

“The crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people is unacceptable, and our government is taking concrete action across multiple fronts to end it,” a spokesperson from the office of the minister of Crown-Indigenous relations said.

“We have received the letter in question outlining the concerns of families, and we are currently reviewing it. Through the National Action Plan and the Federal Pathway, we will continue to support co-developed initiatives that are Indigenous-led, survivor-centric and culturally informed.”