By Sister Barbara Paleczny, SSND
With the Truth and Reconciliation Circle from St. Mary's parish in Kitchener, Ontario, Sister Celeste Reinhart, SSND hung red dresses on trees.
Participants tied 1,500 red ribbons on trees in St. Mary’s Indigenous Garden, as the church bells rang their somber tone for 15 minutes.
After drumming, singing and smudging, we walked with Healing the Seven Generations to Victoria Park. There, the Indigenous shared their experience of the murder of family members, being trafficked, or having a daughter trafficked in our region.
Truly our cries of lament wash over the rows of crosses, with names and ages on them.
Note that Defend Dignity in both the U.S. and Canada is a great resource with free webinars for parents, teachers, and all who are concerned about digital trafficking and abuse.
"Our Red Dress Day was better than ever," Sister Celeste said of the event. "That is probably because the Indigenous and we worked together on it, and because we are getting comfortable working with each other. It was very powerful."
