LAURIE WEIR

The Town Hall bandshell in Smiths Falls became a place of reflection and remembrance on Saturday, May 10, as the community gathered to mark Red Dress Day, honouring missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people.

This eighth annual event was organized by Flora Riley, a former Smiths Falls resident now living in Perth. Riley, a Metis woman from Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador and Newfoundland, spoke openly about her sister, Daphne, who was murdered by her husband as she lay in a hospital bed more than 50 years ago.

“I do this for Daphne, and for all the families who are still waiting for answers or justice,” Riley told the crowd. “The red dresses call the spirits of the missing back to be among us, and to have their voices heard.”

Red dresses, flags and wind catchers were displayed throughout the park during the ceremony, which included speeches, poetry and drumming.

Tim Bisallion, an Anishinaabe man from Thessalon First Nation and longtime Smiths Falls resident, read an original poem:

“They dance in the winds though no one is there,
Empty of bodies but full of despair,
They carry the stories of sisters and daughters,
Toppled, like ripples from stones in the water.”

Francine Desjardins of the Lanark Drum Circle performed songs and later explained the cultural teaching of strawberries as the “heart berry,” which represents love and the first medicine, while another participant moved through the circle of community to hand out fresh strawberries.

Smiths Falls Police Chief Jodi Empey addressed the crowd. “As police officers, we must acknowledge the harm that has been done historically to Indigenous peoples and communities,” she said. “We are committed to doing better, to listening, to learning, and to standing alongside Indigenous families and survivors.”

Lanark County Interval House and Community Support executive director Erin Lee described intimate partner violence as an epidemic, citing 62 femicides in Ontario and 182 across Canada last year.

“Many people like to believe, naively, that it doesn’t happen here,” Lee said. “But it does. It happens right here in your community.”

She also urged residents to build relationships with local police. “We need to figure out how to reconcile and lean on police, to let them know what’s going on, to assist and demand that they make it better,” Lee said. “You know your community better than anybody in uniform.”

Sgt. Dave Laviolette of the OPP’s East Region Provincial Liaison Team, and a member of Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, also spoke. He shared that his father is a residential school survivor and acknowledged the personal loss his own family has endured.

“The OPP has established a dedicated MMIWG team within the Indigenous Policing Bureau to address the Calls for Justice,” Laviolette said. “We are still in the early stages, but we are committed to ensuring that our activities improve the quality of life for Indigenous people across Ontario.”

Mayor Shawn Pankow shared the proclamation by the Town of Smiths Falls, officially recognizing May 5 as Red Dress Day. 

“The colour red signifies the colour the spirits can see,” Pankow said. “The colour red is calling back the spirits of those missing and allows them a chance to be among us and have their voices heard.”

As Riley shared with the crowd: “This is for Daphne. This is for the women still missing. This is for those still searching for answers. We cannot let their stories be forgotten.”

She then sang and played her guitar — a tribute to her sister as the crowd mingled to enjoy Timbits from Tim Hortons, and a red dress themed cake from Jonsson’s Your Independent Grocer.