Vertical image of five red dresses in varying shades hanging from a chain-link fence. Behind them there is a large mound within the Brady Landfill. The foreground is a strip of muted green grass, and the sky above is overcast, casting a subdued, grey light across the scene.
Red dresses, a symbol honouring Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People, hung from the fence surrounding Brady Landfill in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Installed by family members and supporters, they marked the site where they believed their loved ones remained during years of advocacy to have the landfill searched.
This photograph documents a site of protest and memorial for victims of a serial killer who preyed on Indigenous women in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Installed by families and supporters, the dresses were part of a years-long push to search the landfill. Shortly after these women disappeared, police had evidence to believe their bodies were within Brady Landfill and Prairie Green Landfill, where another victim had been found. With an ongoing refusal to search the landfills, the families and communities set up camps outside Brady Landfill and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Beginning in the winter of 2023, they committed to advocating for their loved ones to be searched for and brought home through demonstrations at the camps, ongoing protests and calls to action. After years of advocacy, their dedication eventually lead to the search of the landfills, where the women were found in 2025.
The red dresses photographed at Brady Landfill are a symbol honouring Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People, that unfortunately extends beyond this story to an ongoing national crisis. In the age of Truth and Reconciliation, these dresses should not become something we are desensitized to, but a reminder that Indigenous women continue to face disproportionate levels of violence, and that families should never have to endure this loss, let alone fight for their loved ones to be searched for and brought home.
Learn more and engage with the National Action Plan for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit+ people: https://mmiwg2splus-nationalactionplan.ca/
Explore the other stories–Shay Conroy (she/her) is a Māori Canadian documentary photographer and contributing photojournalist based in Oshawa, Ontario, on the traditional and treaty territory of the Michi Saagiig and Chippewa Anishinaabeg (Williams Treaties). Her approach is both observational and relational, informed by lived experience of working-class life, family resilience, and the impacts of trauma and mental health. Her photo practice acts as a tool for connection and vulnerable communication. She is currently developing a documentary project on violence and exploitation of women, centred on advocacy for survivor dignity and agency. She is a Women Photograph member, Sheridan College graduate, and post-secondary arts educator.
website: shayconroy.com
instagram: @shayconroy
