Red Dress Park opens in Membertou

MEMBERTOU — Shirley Christmas fought back all sorts of emotions while listening to the grand opening for the Red Dress Park that helps families remember and honour missing and murdered Indigenous people.

“It was really touching; emotionally I tried to keep my tears back real hard,” she said following Friday’s ceremony outside of the police station in Membertou. “Emma is my sister, my younger sister, my baby sister.”

The Emma she thought of is Emma Paul, who was just 25 when her then-boyfriend murdered her on Sept. 26, 1991.

“In sitting here today, there was one memory I didn’t like, but it just popped into my head and it was hard to maintain control.”

The Red Dress Park has been four years in the making and traces its origins back to Sgt. Barry Gordon of the Cape Breton Regional Police meeting with Membertou elders for tea and prayers. During their Thursday gatherings, they discussed creating a memorial park to honour missing and murdered Indigenous people.

Community donations and federal funding were then secured to help the park to become a reality.

“This was a community effort with the elders and the prayer group in Membertou to have something to recognize the missing and murdered Indigenous women, men and children,” Gordon said.

“They wanted to make sure all those categories were covered and the importance for the country to recognize that this was a terrible thing that has taken place.”

Among its features are pressed concrete walkways and park benches built by Membertou elder Danny Paul out of 250-year-old oak trees. A monument at its centre features the words of Membertou Knowledge Keeper Jane Meader.

Membertou Chief Terry Paul, Cape Breton Regional Police Services Chief Robert Walsh and CBRM Mayor Amanda Mcdougall all spoke during Friday's opening ceremonies.

As did Karen Bernard who, when she learned about the Red Dress Park plans, told Gordon about the funding she had for the Mi'kmaq Peak Hat project that brings family members of missing and murdered Indigenous people together to make peak hats and to think about lost loved ones during the creation process.

She saw the park and the peak hats as opportunities to help families to heal. And together with the Women of First Light Association, helped secure park funding.

Gordon now hopes everyone who visits can reflect on a better future for all children across the country.

“It’s a place just for anybody to come sit down and reflect and enjoy what kind of a nice day it is, read the words on the monument that’s all about caring and to look forward to a better future,” he said.

As for Christmas, she expects any unpleasant memories of her sister’s death to be replaced by pleasant ones when she frequents the new park in the days and weeks to come.

Instead of anger, she’ll think of the shy girl who lived across the street with her little children who was always loving and encouraging to her, especially when Christmas decided to continue her education.

“She brought over this old Webster's dictionary. It was old … but it was in good shape,” Christmas recalled.

“She also left a note there. I still have the note in my photo album and she told me to, ‘follow my dream and don’t forget to keep my feet on the ground.’"

That note on the old tissuetype paper is now in a photo album to preserve it forever.

Christmas is too nervous about damaging that note with a trip to the new Red Dress Park, but she’ll think of her sister’s words when she does visit.

“I think about happy things when I start feeling sad. It helps, it really does.”