The red dresses hung silently in the trees, swaying in the breeze that drifted through Altona Centennial Park on Sunday, May 4. Suspended from the branches like haunting prayers, the dresses told the stories of women who are no longer here—stories that are too often forgotten or ignored.
The installation was part of the REDress Project, an art-based awareness initiative to honour Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) and spark much-needed conversation. Organized locally by Courtney Yeo-Thiessen and Denise Thiessen, the project made its stop in Altona as part of a four-community tour across the Pembina Valley, including Carman, Morden, and Winkler.
“We are Manitobans, and in Manitoba, we have the highest Indigenous population proportionally,” said Yeo-Thiessen. “That brings a responsibility to those of us who live here to be aware of how this is affecting our neighbours.”
The REDress Project, originally created by Métis visual artist Jaime Black, uses the powerful symbolism of empty red dresses to represent the thousands of Indigenous women and girls who have gone missing or been murdered in Canada. While the RCMP reported around 1,200 cases between 1980 and 2012, Indigenous organizations estimate the number to be closer to 4,000—a number that continues to rise yet is still underrepresented in media coverage and national discourse.
Yeo-Thiessen believes the lack of consistent data and police action has allowed many cases to go unnoticed.
“It’s like they almost normalize that this group of people are just going to go missing,” she said. “We need to do better.”
Among those who joined the Altona installation was Shahla Hoeppner, a local woman whose mother, Joanne Hoeppner, was murdered in 2008. One of the dresses belonged to her mom, and another smaller dress represented her baby sister; her mother was pregnant at the time of her death.
“My mom is one of these women,” Hoeppner said quietly. “This is a way for her to be a part of something that keeps her story alive.
“This is a reminder that my mom mattered,” she said. “They all mattered. And their stories still deserve to be told.”
The dresses stood out brightly against the tall trees just beginning to bud with new life—a symbolic contrast between grief and hope. Some dresses carried names embroidered by the Pembina Hills Arts Council and community members. Others came from women’s shelters like Genesis House or were donated by locals moved by the project’s purpose.
“The dresses pop on the darkness of the trees,” Yeo-Thiessen said. “But the trees are also bringing new life. There’s an element of hope in this installation. We want to get to a place where this no longer happens at the rate it does.”
Each community display also features a blanket exercise, an interactive session that educates participants on the history of Indigenous Peoples in Canada—from pre-colonial self-governance to displacement and generational trauma caused by residential schools and the Sixties Scoop. While no one from Altona signed up for the exercise this time, the organizers are hopeful future events will spark greater participation.
“The visual impact of just being able to walk along the path and see the dresses—that gets people thinking,” Yeo-Thiessen said. “That’s where the conversations start. It’s not just about grief and tragedy. It’s about community, healing, and understanding.”
The day was not without its challenges. One woman was seen taking dresses from the display, including a red wedding dress that had been donated with deep personal meaning.
“By the time we got to her, she’d thrown them in her car and taken off,” Yeo-Thiessen said. “It’s never happened before, and it’s hard to know what to think. These dresses aren’t just fabric—they represent lives and stories.”
Despite the incident, the event was largely positive and well-attended. Families walked the trail together, pausing in silence or stopping to read the embroidered names. Some visitors brought new dresses to contribute to the project. Others stood quietly, absorbing the significance.
“There’s a tendency to assume these things don’t happen in our communities,” said Yeo-Thiessen. “But they do. And we need to stop pretending they don’t just because we don’t hear about them.”
She also emphasized the urgent need to push back against stereotypes and indifference.
“These women don’t go missing because they’re careless or irresponsible. Many are victims of systemic violence, generational trauma, or vulnerable situations they didn’t choose. We have to look at the bigger picture.”
The REDress Project continues its Pembina Valley tour in Morden on May 25 and Winkler on June 1. Each installation runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and anyone interested in participating in the blanket exercises is encouraged to contact the team at pvredress@gmail.com.
