Red ribbons adorn Winnipeg bridges to honour MMIW

The next time you cross the Red River in Winnipeg you'll notice red ribbons adorning bridge beams to honour Canada's missing and murdered Indigenouswomen and girls.

On Monday, following a drum ceremony, Melissa Paypompee and a small group headed on to the Louise Bridge to tie dozens ofcloth ribbons to call attention tothe crisis.

"It just brings me peace to come out and raise awareness for missing and murdered Indigenouswomen," Paypompee told CBC News.

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For her, the cause is deeply personal. Her mother Valerie Ann Paypompee was 36 when she was murdered in a Winnipeg rooming house in 2009.

"I know that I'm doing something good raising awareness, not just for my mom, but for all of the other families that are going through what I'm going through," she said. "It just makes me think that, you know, they're watching us as we tie these ribbons for them. I feel my mom with me."

Althea Guiboche brought the red ribbon campaign to Winnipeg in 2015 an idea sparkedby women in The Pas, Man. who decorated a local bridge, she said.

She hopes the public reflects on the victims andtheir familiesas they pass by the ribbons.

"It's a gentle reminder to keep these women in your hearts, in thoughts, in your mind, in your prayers," said Guiboche. "Keep asking for answers. Keep searching for solutions. Something needs to be done to stop all of these murders and these women going missing."

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Guiboche tied a ribbon to the Louise Bridge to acknowledge her cousin Tara Chartrand of Regina, Sask. The young woman went missing and was found murdered in 2012.

Ribbons are now flying on the Provencher and Louise bridges and the group is looking for donations of red broad cloth to decorate the Disraeli Bridge next Monday. Paypompee hopesthe public will join them.

"We're all in this together," Paypompee said. "I want people to come together and to come out and help."

Anyone who wants to donate cloth can contactGuibocheby email: ohmyguiboche@gmail.com