Red Dress Day Ceremony
May 1, 2026 — 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The Faculty community is invited to join an in-person ceremony for Red Dress Day, hosted by The Ottawa Hospital, CHEO, uOttawa and the Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA).
Red Dress Day Ceremony
Friday, May 1st , 2026: Ceremony
The Faculty community is invited to join an in-person ceremony for Red Dress Day, hosted by The Ottawa Hospital, CHEO, uOttawa and the Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA).
Please gather at 10:50 a.m. at the Terrace (back) of RGN, close to the Indigenous Garden; we will head to the CHEO grassy Butterfly Garden together.
Following the walk to the CHEO Butterfly Garden, red dresses will be smudged and hung, followed by a ceremony and drumming by the ONWA drummers.
You are encouraged to wear something red to show your support.
The ceremony will last from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Tuesday, May 5th, 2026: Red Dress Day
Red Dress Day, also known as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People, takes place on May 5. It is inspired by Métis artist Jaime Black’s REDress Project installation, in which she hung empty, red dresses to represent the missing and murdered women.
Red Dresses are hung in remembrance and solidarity. Please do not touch the dresses, which will remain at the Butterfly Garden until May 6.