‘An ongoing genocidal act’: First Nations advocate talks about Red Dress Day on Before the Peace

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A prominent First Nations advocate has said more needs to be done to bring awareness to Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) during the latest episode of Before the Peace.

Connie Greyeyes currently works with the Indian Residential School Survivors Society as a resolution health support worker and a MMIWG coordinator.

She said her trip into advocacy began with a relative who was murdered back in the 1990s and also includes Renee Didier, a local woman who was found murdered in 2024.

Didier is also Greyeyes’ cousin, and the murder hit “too close to home.”

Speaking to host Chris Walker about Red Dress Day, Greyeyes described it as an “important day” to honour MMIWG, raise awareness and bring it to the attention of the local community.

“[Red Dress Day] is the one time where we can all sit and gather and really honour our loved ones that have gone missing or have been murdered or found deceased,” said Greyeyes.

“[I] started with the Spirit in Sisters vigils with my late friend Dave Terry,and it just started me on this journey of wanting to raise awareness and make change within our government and even within our lives.”

Beginning as an art display in Winnipeg honouring the deaths of Indigenous women by artist Jaime Black in 2010, walks and vigils are now held on May 5th across Canada for Red Dress Day.

According to Statistics Canada, 490 Indigenous women were murdered in a 12-year period from 2009 to 2021, at a rate six times higher than non-Indigenous women.

“This is an ongoing genocidal act on Indigenous women and girls,” said Greyeyes. “It trickles from the top all the way down to the bottom. 

“When we have people that commit violent acts against our women, it’s very rarely we have justice for our people.”

Locally, the Peace region has most recently suffered the losses of Darylyn Supernant and Didier, two Indigenous women who went missing and were later found deceased.

The hour-long interview featured Greyeyes speaking on her advocacy, which included heading to Ottawa and a dialogue with the co-host of ABC’s The View, Whoopi Goldberg.

“I had an interaction with her which included her wearing a red dress medallion,” said Greyeyes. “She had mentioned that when one of our women goes missing, there isn’t any public outcry that happens.

“She said ‘can you imagine, like they actually have to go and search for their own family members because nobody else cares enough to help?’”

Greyeyes also spoke about her upbringing in Fort St. John, including both of her parents experiencing residential schools, her work with Amnesty International and what non-Indigenous communities can do to bring attention to MMIWG, saying it “boils down to how people are raised.”

Notably, she pointed to a Fort St. John tour date booked last fall by comedy troupe the Danger Cats, who openly mocked the victims of serial killer Robert Pickton, many of whom were Indigenous.

“I don’t know one single Indigenous person that doesn’t have somebody that has been murdered or has gone missing,” said Greyeyes. “The fact that this community openly welcomed those Danger Cat guys [was] disgusting.

“This community is like, ‘yeah, but they’re funny.’ You know what? Funny at whose expense?” 

The entire interview was released on April 29th and is available on all major podcast platforms.