‘Trying to engage as wide as we can'
A pilot project for an alert system for missing Indigenous women and girls is underway in Manitoba.
The Red Dress Alert pilot project, which is run by Giganawenimaanaanig, Manitoba's MMIWG2S+ implementation committee, could be online as early as the fall.
'Families have known that a Red Dress Alert has been needed for a number of decades. So it's nice to see that we're moving quite fast in the development,' said Alaya McIvor, who is involved in the venture.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
Winnipeg Centre MP Leah Gazan introduced a motion in the House of Commons last year to declare missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls a nationwide emergency.
Similar to an Amber or Silver Alert, the system will send out alerts when an Indigenous woman or girl goes missing.
The project will be developed in three phases and is currently in its first phase. The project team has been engaging with various communities since December to determine the specific need in each community.
It kicked off by engaging with several First Nations and northern communities where the number of Indigenous women and girls is highest in the province, including Thompson, The Pas, Flin Flon and South Indian Lake.
Kim McPherson, another member of the team, said remote communities face their own challenges.
• On May 5 the University of Manitoba will be hosting a ceremony and keynote address from Cambria Harris, whose mother, Morgan Harris, was killed by convicted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki. The event begins at 1:30. More information at: wfp.to/WQW
• The annual Red Dress Day memorial walk and ceremony will begin at 1 p.m. at Memorial Park. The walk will go to Oodena Circle at the Forks for a ceremony and guest speakers, followed by a healing jingle dress dance
'The infrastructure is very different from the city. If the loved one goes missing outside a community, like say in an urban centre like Thompson, you know, there's unique challenges that they face,' she said. 'We're trying to engage as wide as we can to hear from everybody that will help to inform this Red Dress Alert development.'
Denise Cook, an activist and project organizer, said the team is working to find a way to make the alert system regional so communities can respond to alerts close to home.
Winnipeg Centre MP Leah Gazan introduced a motion in the House of Commons last year to declare missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls a nationwide emergency.
The motion led to a committee study on a Canada-wide alert system. In May 2024, the federal government announced the Red Dress Alert system would undergo a pilot in Manitoba, and in October it promised $1.3 million toward the project.
Gazan did not respond to requests for comment from the Free Press.
Donna Bartlett, whose granddaughter Marcedes Myran was killed by serial killer Jeremy Skibicki, called the alert system a good idea but is skeptical it will make a difference.
'How many times have women gone missing, they put it on TV and that's it?' she said. 'They can send it out and everything, but how many people are actually going to listen to it?'
Bartlett said the alerts should include Indigenous men and boys, too.
'They're not invincible,' she said.
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Cook said the alert is only one way of addressing the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and education and awareness must be a continuous aspect.
Cook pointed to the 231 calls for justice made by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls's final report in 2019 and events such as today's Red Dress Day as ways to carry on the conversation.
'People who want to build awareness and understanding can go to those events, be present and be more aware,' she said. 'Even having conversations at the kitchen table with families or having conversation with their circles to bring them in the know, this is something that should be a concern for everyone in the community.'
Feedback on the project can be submitted via a survey at wfp.to/reddress.
nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca
Nicole BuffieMultimedia producer
Nicole Buffie is a multimedia producer who reports for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College's Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom in 2023. Read more about Nicole.
Every piece of reporting Nicole produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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