Sewn ribbon skirts are being displayed at the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre as well as local libraries in an effort to raise awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous women.
Melissa Root from the Saugeen First Nation Public Library has been working over the past month on designing and sewing 20 ribbon skirts, which be displayed throughout May and June.
“The mission behind this project is to bring awareness to the estimated 4,000 missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and the continued risk they still face today,” says Bruce County in a release.
Each of the skirts were created to represent a different story of the missing and murdered women and girls, and feature 20 different designs.
Bruce County Museum Director Cathy McGirr says last year they had one ribbon skirt in the entrance of the museum to mark and commemorate missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
“That skirt was kept up for the month of May and we have expanded that this year and Melissa Root from Saugeen First Nation Library, along with many community members have created more skirts for the museum as well as skirts for all of the libraries through the Bruce County Public Library System, and the reason why it’s important is to raise awareness of the issues facing women and girls within our Indigenous communities,” says McGirr.
She adds the red dress has been a symbol for murdered and missing Indigenous women, and the ribbon skirt is also important to Indigenous culture.
“The traditional colour of red, recognizing murdered and missing Indigenous women is prominent for that awareness program,” says McGirr.
There are currently three skirts at the museum, with the rest located at all other library branches.