Performances, healing dances abound as Toronto commemorates Red Dress Day

Janna Abbas · CBC News

· Posted: May 05, 2025 3:58 PM EDT | Last Updated: 23 minutes ago

Mayor Olivia Chow attended 2 ceremonies filled with dancing, drums, ineffable fires and Indigenous artwork connected Monday to honour Red Dress Day.

The National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ People is marked nationwide. 

Speaking astatine Toronto's Native Canadian Centre successful the Annex area, Chow dedicated her remarks to the representation of women and girls that person been lost.

She said she's reasoning astir the city's relation successful tackling unit against Indigenous women.

"We request to enactment harder and ideate a beingness that is escaped of unit [and is] alternatively afloat of love. Let america ideate a metropolis that has that," she said.

Chow said that Toronto should connection structure to Indigenous radical and supply much affordable housing, on with making it easier for newcomers to find and link with section Indigenous communities and elders.

"We request to marque definite there's capable shelter, housing… [that] determination is acquisition and employment opportunities," she said. 

Toronto's events are among dozens happening crossed Canada.

Featuring almighty dances, songs and tone sheet offerings, galore Indigenous radical said the events are a accidental to mourn mislaid loved ones and support their representation alive.

Lori Boros, who is Cree, performed a opus astatine the Native Canadian Centre. Her parent was a residential schoolhouse survivor, she said, and 1 of her aunts went missing and hasn't been found.

Boros told CBC Toronto her show is simply a healing process — 1 that helps her enactment connected to her culture. 

"When the opus comes to you, creator from supra volition bring you those words and the song, and past it conscionable comes retired of your bosom and conscionable flows," she said. "You're joining successful tone with 1 another, with the words, arsenic it's flowing done the music." 

Joseph Harper, who is Ojibway and Cree, performed a taste creation during a Sunrise Ceremony successful Love Park.

Harper said helium went to the lawsuit to retrieve and link with his family, and that helium danced for them. 

"I'm reasoning astir my grandma chiefly today, but I usually deliberation astir my family. I deliberation astir household that came earlier me. That's wherefore we dance, right?" helium said. "That's wherefore we person the feathers, the songs, it's conscionable everything is connected. That's benignant of however I consciousness erstwhile I travel out, I privation to beryllium much connected."