The Stettler Friendship Circle hosted a drum circle at West Stettler Park on May 5 to honour the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people.
More commonly known as Red Dress Day, the national day of awareness came about from a report produced by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
"It came about as one of 94 calls to action," said Carter Lindstrom, one of those attending the drum circle.
The group adorned the area of the drum circle with red dresses which hung off trees and hangers.
On the hill in West Stettler Park, a pair of flags book-ended 23 stakes which held the photos of missing Indigenous men and women.
According to Stephanie Hadley, another attendee of the drum circle, the women on the stakes represent "a fraction" of the women murdered and missing from Alberta alone whereas the men came from around Canada.
In addition to the stakes with the photos, 10 other stakes with information about the problem of Murdered, Missing, and Exploited Indigenous People (MMEIP) were also placed around the site.
One stat indicated shows that Indigenous women make up four per cent of Canada's population, but 24 per cent of the nation's homicides.
Another shows that one-third of Indigenous women will experience sexual violence in their lifetime, 67 per cent of which will be conducted by a non-Indigenous perpetrator.
Once the group had the site set up, they began the drum circle with a smudging ceremony, a land acknowledgement, information on the day, read a poem by an Indigenous author, and then began drumming.
Eight people took part in the drum circle.
Red Dress Day was first informally recognized in 2010 based on an art exhibit created by Indigenous artist Jaime Black and has continued since, though since the TRC report was released has been formally recognized.
