National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

This image is a reproduction of Plains Cree artist Ruth Cuthand's acrylic on canvas How Much Was Forgotten, from the collection of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Reproduced with the permission of Ruth Cuthand.

The use of red dresses to represent missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls was originated by Métis artist Jaime Black in 2010. In her exhibit The REDress Project, Black displayed over one hundred red dresses around the University of Winnipeg campus to raise awareness about this issue. Today red dresses continue to be used across Canada as a representation of the Indigenous women and girls lost to violent crime and as a call for action to prevent future violence.

This image, as well as two others showing individual quilt panels, is a photograph of the Sisters in Spirit Travelling Quilt by Anishinaabe artist Alice Olsen Williams. Each quilt panel was contributed by a different Indigenous artist. Quilt images are reproduced with the permission of the Native Women's Association of Canada.