Motorists passing the intersection of Highway 16 and 97 will now be able to see Mr. PG waving the Prince George Red Dress Society's flag.
This is to recognize May 5, which is the “Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-spirit People.”
Two years ago, the City of Prince George officially proclaimed May 5 as a "Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-spirit People" as an act of solidarity with the community of Ladysmith, B.C. where a red dress installation was vandalized.
Red Dresses have been widely adopted as a symbol to raise awareness for murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls since Métis artist Jamie Black’s 2010 art project.
“We've raised the flag in support of that, not only to bring awareness within our own community, to be able to hold space for people and to say that's not okay,” said Tammy Miese, president of the Prince George Red Dress Society, who lost her childhood best friend Kari Anne Gordon when she went missing and was found murdered in 1998.
Miese has been organizing Red Dress events in Prince George since 2016.
“I have to say that I fills my heart that I'm able to stand here and bring awareness, and it's not just awareness for you and I it's awareness for everybody,” said Miese.
“So many people don't have a voice to bring that their loved one’s pictures forward, or their names or anything like that. They're still grieving, and they're still getting used getting used to the idea that their loved one is murdered or is missing,” said Brenda Wilson John who has been an advocate for MMIWG for 29 years.
“So, to have a day where there's awareness — they can hang a dress up in the window, they can go on walks, or vigils, or they can go to the monument to remember their loved one.”
In September 2022, the Red Dress Society installed a monument dedicated to MMIWG on the Highway of Tears at the corner of Highway 16 and Ferry Avenue, as part of the annual Red Dress Campaign.
An awareness 5km walk to mark Red Dress day will also take place on May 5 at 3 p.m. starting at the RCMP detachment on Victoria Street and ending at Cottonwood Island Park.
