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Red dress pin-making workshops planned to raise awareness of MMIWG

Jan 11, 2019 | 4:00 PM

Those wishing to show their support for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) can make their own pin in a series of upcoming bead-making workshops.

The sessions will be held at the Allen Sapp Gallery and will be led by an instructor who will show participants how to create their own red dress pins.  

Walking with Our Sisters North Battleford is organizing the event, along with the commemorative round dance planned for the Don Ross Centre on Jan. 31. The memorial is in honour of the late artist Allen Sapp, and a memorial for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Leah Garven, City of North Battleford curator and manager of galleries, said the workshops start this month.

“It’s good for us to remember those missing in our community,” she said. “These issues still surround women in general, and men, people who fall prey to disastrous situations and go missing. It can happen to anybody.”

A red dress art installation, featuring 150 red dresses, was previously held at the University of Winnipeg campus to raise MMIWG awareness.

“The red dress has become a symbol for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls,” Garven said.

She said the Thunder Bay chapter of the group started a bead-making workshop to create red dress pins, and made them available to everyone who participated in the national inquiry.

“We’re hoping people can make more than one so we can hand them out to people at the round dance later this month,” she said.

The red dress pin-making sessions will be held on Jan. 17, 23 and 24, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Materials are free and will be provided.

 

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

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