The exhibit was part of the Atamiskākēwak National Gathering 2018, which was held in Moose Jaw
Between April 23 and 28, Sask Polytech’s Moose Jaw campus featured a haunting display of nearly 30 red dresses, hung both inside and outside, and ten banners with a total of 306 photos and stories of some of the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
“According to certain Dakota spiritual beliefs, the colour red is sacred and is the only colour spirits can see,” says Rosemarie Zaba Stewart, Sask Polytech Indigenous Student Advisor and curator of the REDress exhibit. “The intent is that the spirits of the Indigenous women and girls who are no longer with us will see the dresses and know that they have not been forgotten.”
The REDress exhibit concept was originally created by Winnipeg-based Métis artist Jamie Black as an aesthetic response to the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada. The exhibit in Moose Jaw was curated as part of Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s contribution to the “Shaking hands in greeting with each other” Atamiskākēwak National Gathering 2018.
“Locals as well as people from across Canada from Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia, Nunavut, NWT, to the USA signed the guest book,” says Zaba Stewart. “Their comments ranged from echoes of sadness, despair, and loss to expressions of hope, encouragement, and thankfulness for the provocative and impactful exhibit.”
More about about the Atamiskākēwak National Gathering 2018. 
Published May 2018.