The Buzz...About Books

May 5 every year is the National Day of Awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S) in Canada, also known as Red Dress Day. On this day in a typical year, you might notice some red dresses hanging near a church, on campus, or from someone’s balcony, and you have probably wondered what it means.

This day began in 2010 as The REDress Project, “an aesthetic response to more than 1000 missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada” by Jaime Black (Métis). It is an installation art project that also includes Trans and Two-Spirit individuals who have gone missing or have been murdered. The project has since been installed in public spaces throughout Canada and the United States, and acts as a visual reminder all of the missing women, girls and Two-Spirit people. 

On May 2, 2023, the House of Commons unanimously adopted a motion for the federal government to declare MMIWG2S a national emergency.

We encourage you to wear red on May 5 to raise awareness about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit people. We have made a reading list with books in our collection where you can learn more about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit people. Below are some featured books from our reading list. If an author is Indigenous, their nation will be included as a bracket next to their name. 

Featured Books From Our Reading List

Missing Nimâmâ by Melanie Florence (Cree), illustrated by François Thisdale

"Missing Nimâmâ is a story of love, loss, and acceptance, showing the human side of a national tragedy."

Looking for Smoke by K. A. Cobell (Blackfeet)

"When local girl Loren includes Mara in a traditional Blackfeet Giveaway to honor Loren's missing sister, Mara thinks she'll finally make some friends on the Blackfeet reservation. Instead, a girl from the Giveaway, Samantha White Tail, is found murdered. Because the four members of the Giveaway group were the last to see Samantha alive, each becomes a person of interest in the investigation. And all of them--Mara, Loren, Brody, and Eli--have a complicated history with Samantha. Despite deep mistrust, the four must now take matters into their own hands and clear their names. Even though one of them may be the murderer"

REDress: Art, Action, and the Power of Presence, edited by Jamie Black-Morsette (Métis)

"A powerful anthology uniting the voices of Indigenous women, Elders, grassroots community activists, artists, academics, and family members affected by the tragedy of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people from across Turtle Island. In 2010, Métis artist Jaime Black-Morsette created the REDress Project--an art installation consisting of placing red dresses in public spaces as a call for justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2S). Symbolizing both absence and presence, the red dresses ignite a reclamation of voice and place for MMIWG2S. Fifteen years later, the symbol of the empty red dress endures as families continue to call for action. In this anthology, Jaime Black-Morsette shares her own intimate stories and memories of the REDress Project along with the voices of Indigenous women, Elders, grassroots community activists, artists, academics, and family members affected by this tragedy. Together they use the power of their collective voice to not only call for justice for MMIWG2S, but honour Indigenous women as keepers and protectors of land, culture, and community across Turtle Island."

Unbroken: My Fight for Survival, Hope, and Justice for Indigenous Women and Girls by Angela Sterritt (Gitxsan)

"Unbroken is an extraordinary work of memoir and investigative journalism focusing on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, written by an award-winning Gitxsan journalist who survived life on the streets against all odds."

Keetsahnak: Our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Sisters, edited by Kim Anderson (Cree/Métis), Christi Belcourt (Métis) and Maria Campbell (Métis)

"Through stories of resilience, resistance, and activism, the editors give voice to powerful personal testimony and allow for the creation of knowledge. It's in all of our best interests to take on gender violence as a core resurgence project, a core decolonization project, a core of Indigenous nation building, and as the backbone of any Indigenous mobilization."

Highway of Tears: A True Story of Racism, Indifference and the Pursuit of Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls by Jessica McDiarmid

"Highway of Tears will offer an intimate, first-hand look at the communities along Highway 16 and the families of the victims, as well as examine the historically fraught social and cultural tensions between settler and Indigenous peoples that underlie life in the region. Finally, it will link these cases with others found across Canada--estimated to number over 1,200--contextualizing them within a broader examination of the undervaluing of Indigenous lives in the country and of our ongoing failure to provide justice for the missing and murdered."

Rematriating Justice: Honouring the Lives of Our Indigenous Sisters, edited by Jennifer Brant (Kanien'kehá:ka) and Dawn Memee Lavell-Harvard (Anishinabe)

"In June 2019, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls released its Final Report titled Reclaiming Power and Place. The report documented 231 “Calls for Justice” demanding immediate action against racialized, sexualized and gender-based violence. The report condemned Canadian society for its inaction and described the violence as “a national tragedy of epic proportion.” It has been eight years since the release of Forever Loved: Exposing the Hidden Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada (2016) and four years since the release of Reclaiming Power and Place and we continue to witness racialized, sexualized and gender-based violences across Turtle Island. This book contributes to these Calls for Justice by demanding accountability and policy change. The book centres the voices of Indigenous women, families and communities by offering essays, testimonies, and reflections that honour collective calls to rematriate justice for our Indigenous sisters."

Available Online

Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (Canada)

Download volume 1a (PDF) and volume 1b (PDF) of this report.

"The National Inquiry’s Final Report reveals that persistent and deliberate human and Indigenous rights violations and abuses are the root cause behind Canada’s staggering rates of violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people. The two volume report calls for transformative legal and social changes to resolve the crisis that has devastated Indigenous communities across the country." (statement from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls website.)

A Legal Analysis of Genocide: Supplementary Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (PDF) by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (Canada)

"This supplementary legal analysis represents the views and opinions of the National Inquiry. In reaching our conclusion, we consulted with international legal scholars and lawyers with expertise on genocide and international crimes."  (statement from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls website.)