'Don't give up on yourself or your family': Yellowknife marks Red Dress Day with march for MMIWG2S+

Melissa Hardisty says there are three days each year that are difficult to bear: her daughter's birthday, the day her daughter died, and Red Dress Day. 

At a Red Dress Day gathering in Yellowknife on Monday to honour missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, Hardisty, who is originally from Pehdzéh Kı̨ First Nation, spoke about the death of her 12-year-old daughter and urged parents to keep their kids close.

Hardisty says she has PTSD from losing her daughter and that's made her shut out memories. She believes other parents who have lost children may be struggling with the same.

"I'm just grateful that there are so many people here that want to listen to our story and want to know exactly what has happened so that we can protect our future generations, our young little girls."

Hardisty asked marchers to think about who they are protecting and "why we're standing tall with each other so we can protect our girls."

"We need to teach people — men —that they need to start respecting women from when they're that small, to the day they grow up and they're on their own," she said. 

She shared her prayers for the families of girls who are still missing. 

Sarah Gargan of Deh Gáh Got'ı̨ę First Nation said she marched on Monday "with a very heavy heart in memory of my granddaughter" who died last year in Edmonton, and her granddaughter's cousin who is missing.

Gargan, who attended the march with her daughter, said her granddaughter's death is still unsolved. 

"I pray every night that justice will be served for my granddaughter," she said. 

"I think about my son and my sister-in-law that are going through a lot. They still haven't heard from the justice what actually happened," she said. 

Gargan said she walked in memory of her and all the women whose murders have not been solved. 

"My heart goes out to all the families .... that are still trying to find justice for their loved ones and they want some answers," she said.

Gargan said as people marched from the N.W.T. Legislative Assembly building to the Northern United Place, sharing in food, telling stories and sitting side-by-side, it gave her some strength.

"With the people surrounding you, that kind of gives you hope and strength because it's not easy being alone, especially when you're grieving," said Gargan. 

Gargan said there are resources for those who are struggling.

"Don't give up on yourself or your family," she said. "There is help out there. Get as much help as you can because we need to strengthen ourselves, and start getting strong again as women .... especially young girls. We need to help them."

Julie Thrasher attended the Yellowknife march because she has family who have gone missing or been murdered.

"The awareness should never go away," she said, suggesting there should be monthly gatherings to support the families of missing loved ones and training for RCMP.

Thrasher said she's speaking up for vulnerable people, and that when she was in danger herself, she felt she could not rely on the RCMP.

"There's times where I myself have called upon RCMP for myself and was discriminated against, ended up in the hospital, gave up on calling them. The only people that could save me, I couldn't call because I didn't feel safe," she said.

"Imagine how someone on the streets feels, or a homeless person feels, or a person stuck in addictions."