Crowd of hundreds marches to Kelowna courthouse on Red Dress Day 

UPDATE 1:50 p.m.

It was one of the largest turnouts ever for Red Dress Day in Kelowna.

A crowd of close to 500 walked from the Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society on Leon Avenue to the Kelowna courthouse in memory of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and Two-Spirit People.

It was an emotional day for many.

“We are here today to comfort each other, to remember. We will never forget our missing and murdered women, girls and Two-Spirited,” said Leanna Curtis, Primary Care Network Indigenous health coordinator with the Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society.

“The Two-Spirit get beat just for being themselves,” she said as she held back tears.

Elder Dorothy Goodeye, whose Cree name is Walking Medicine Buffalo Woman, started things off with a prayer and then addressed the crowd gathered on the steps of the courthouse.

“Always hold hope for those that are at risk. Never give up hope on all your brothers and sisters. We are here and we will always be here,” said Goodeye.

This is the 15th anniversary of Red Dress Day, which was inspired by an art installation by Métis Artist Jamie Black, who hung empty red dresses in public places. She had been told by an elder that red is the colour that symbolizes the spirits of the lost being called back to reconnect with their loved ones.

More than five years since a national inquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls handed down more than 200 recommendations, only two of those recommendations have been fully implemented.

ORIGINAL 4:00 a.m.

The Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society will join thousands of people across the country to march in memory of murdered and missing Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people on Monday.

The Red Dress Day walk begins at the Friendship Society building at 442 Leon Ave. at 10:30 a.m. Participants will then proceed to the Kelowna courthouse for speeches and remembrance before returning to share a meal and hear from more speakers.

Red Dress Day honours and brings awareness to the thousands of Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people who have been subject to disproportionate violence in Canada. It has been held in communities across the country since 2014.

The annual commemoration and awareness campaign was originally inspired by Métis artist Jaime Black’s REDress Projectinstallation, in which she hung empty, red dresses to represent the missing and murdered women.

Participants in Monday’s walk in Kelowna are asked to wear red.