Tess's Red Dress: Honouring Love and Family

Description:

With age-appropriate and empathetic language, Tess's Red Dress introduces young children to Red Dress Day and the importance of remembering the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2 Spirit People.

Six-year-old Tess is excited to welcome her new baby sibling into the world! She asks her mom what it was like growing up with a sibling. Tess's mom tells her stories about baking in the kitchen, singing loudly in the bathtub, sharing a bedroom, and braiding her sister's hair.

Despite their excitement over their growing family, they have experienced loss: Tess's Auntie is one of the missing. The loss of any family member makes a drastic change for those left behind and the generations to come.

As the family gets ready for the Red Dress Day march, Tess's mom and dad show her how to honor her Auntie by wearing her red dress and keeping the stories and memories of her family alive.

Back matter pages include resources to support parents and educators through this important and difficult conversation with their children.

Brief description: Carolyn Roberts is a renowned educator, speaker and storyteller with a wealth of experience and expertise in Indigenous education and decolonization. She is a St'at'imc and Stó lō woman belonging to the Thevarge family from N'quatqua Nation and the Kelly Family from the Ch'íyáqtel Nation and a member of the Squamish Nation. Throughout her illustrious career as an educator and administrator for over 20 years, she has consistently demonstrated a passion for supporting Indigenous resurgence through education.

Currently Carolyn holds the position as an Indigenous academic and Faculty Lecturer in the Teacher Education Department of the University of British Columbia. Her dedication to building teachers' understandings in Indigenous history, education, and ancestral ways of knowing has not only garnered her recognition within the education community, but it has also had a positive impact on the decolonizing of the education system.

Review Quotes: "Brings gentle but profound insight into the impacts of MMIWG2S on children and families. This book offers an intimate glimpse into the unbreakable bonds of care and connection between generations and a resolute lesson in standing up to speak out against injustice."--Jaime Black-Morsette, the REDress Project--Jaime Black-Morsette, the REDress Project