Immanuel Honours and Raises Awareness of Racism Against MMIWG2S Folk

The reconciliation team of Immanuel, Wetaskiwin came together, for the fourth year in a row, to remember Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit (MMIWG2S) folk. In April, the team gathered to learn a” Grandmother Song,” an honour song for the ancestors. Gloria Rogers also brought us all together to learn how to make rattles. At the end of the month, team members gathered with their community to smudge and hang red dresses in Diamond Jubilee Park, and at the Peace Cairn in Wetaskiwin. 

During the first week of May, we observed many people who were walking through the park take notice of the dresses and the information that was attached to them. 

On Sunday, May 5, Red Dress Day, the group of women and girls who had learned the “Grandmother Song” shared it with the congregation of Immanuel, Wetaskiwin. This moment of prayer and honour brought deep emotions for those who sang and those who listened. 

Some of the women from Immanuel then went down to Ermineskin Cree Nation to join that community on their walk and remembrance. They joined in the singing of the “Grandmother Song” before that event ended with a round dance. 

The final event of May 5 was a gathering at the Peace Cairn in Wetaskiwin. The poem “If I Was a White Girl,” by Jaime Smallboy, was read aloud prompting deep reflection about racism toward Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit folk who confront it every day. The women from Immanuel then sang the “Grandmother Song,” and this was followed by a prayer by the Rev. Hugh Matheson, rector of Immanuel. 

As a community we are grateful to all who viewed the red dresses, all those who honoured with their singing and their prayers, and all those who stand up against racism and the ongoing harm to Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit folk.