'Our stories matter': Website honours lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls across Manitoba

A young website and database featuring the stories of sir thomas more than 400 Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse people who went missing or were found murdered in Manitoba was launched in lake winnipeg on sabbatum — the subject Day of Action and Remembrance for MMIWG2S. 

Red Dress Stories MB, which was led by Giganawenimaanaanig, a provincial group dedicated to policy reform and advocacy for MMIWG2S+ in Manitoba, was created to honour the lives of missing and murdered individuals, support families and communities, and educate the public, the website states. 

Red Dress Stories MB's main feature is an interactive map spanning the province, with red numbered circles and dress icons marking where someone's loved one went missing or was found murdered.

Alaya McIvor, an advocate and family member of an MMIWG2S+ individual, said she spent months collecting data for each point on the map through conversations with families, compiling every person's name, age, home community and  last known location.  

"As a family member, I believe it was critically important to have families really research that data," McIvor said, adding she has been collecting information on missing and murdered Indigenous individuals for more than two decades.  

"It was important for me to really amplify and lift up the voices of families, really helping them reclaim their power and their place," she said. 

Jose Timog, data analyst and web developer for Giganawenimaanaanig, says he hopes that the website will be a tool for positive change, highlighting the scope of the MMIWG2S+ crisis in order to spur policy reforms and education. 

"By having the website, the data is there, they can't deny it. It's right there, we have proof. And we have the stories and the data to back that up," he said. 

Timog said the website's data shows a sharp increase in missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse people over the last five years. 

According to their database, 61 people went missing or were found murdered between 2020 and Oct. 5, 2025. Over the previous decade — 2010 to 2019 — 62 MMIWG2S+ individuals were reported, the data shows. 

"The rate at which Indigenous women are going murdered or missing is increasing at a rapid rate. That's why this project is so important, so that we can educate the public about that," Timog said. 

Timog said he will continue to update the website with new stories, including highlighting historical cases from decades past. The website will eventually include support resources for families and survivors, as well as links to educational resources like the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls' final report and its 231 Calls for Justice.

Content on the Red Dress Stories website is available in English, French, Ojibwe and Cree. 

The website is also supported by the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, Ka Ni Kanichihk Inc., Wahbung Abinoonjiiag, the Southern Chiefs' Organization, Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, 2Spirit Consultants, Red River College Polytechnic, and the provincial and Winnipeg governments.  

McIvor said she hopes the Red Dress Stories website will be a "catalyst" for family-led change across the province and country. She hopes other jurisdictions will follow Manitoba's lead and start collecting data on missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and gender diverse people. 

Hilda Anderson-Pyrz, president of the National Family and Survivors Circle Inc. And a member of O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation, said the website will "create a legacy for generations coming after us." 

"It's saying to society that we matter, our stories matter," she said. 

"We have the right to live and we have the right to be safe."

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