Welcome to
Carolyn
Roberts
Meet Tess
Tess’s Red Dress is a beautiful heartfelt story that honours and celebrates the gifts and beauty of Indigenous women taken from their communities, it is an essential resource for healing and learning. Tess and her mom walk through stories of love, family, and connection as they get ready for Red Dress Day together to honour and support all MMIWG2S. The book was written for primary grades but is a gentle, loving way to introduce and talk about MMIWG2S and what Red Dress Day means to the Indigenous families that are missing loved ones.
About the creators of the book
Carolyn Roberts is a storyteller with a wealth of experience and expertise in Indigenous education and decolonization. She is St’at’imc and Sto:lo woman belonging to the Thevarge family from N'quatqua Nation and the Kelly Family from the Ch’iyáqtel Nation and a member of the Squamish Nation. Her first book Re-Storying Education is a national bestseller and has won the Nautilus Gold Award and the Whistler Writer’s Festival Book of the year.
Kelsey Mata Foote (Jaax̱snée) is a Tlingit and Filipina illustrator, writer, and producer from Ketchikan, Alaska. She prefers to work digitally with a drawing tablet but is no stranger to incorporating natural textures and watercolor elements in her pieces. Her inspiration is rooted in a Southeast Alaska childhood, one filled with family, putting up fish, exploring the Tongass with her older brothers, and celebrating her heritage.
Get your copy today!
Tess's Red Dress Teaching Podcast
Invitation to Join My Podcast Conversation
I am looking to have conversations with educators about how they teach about MMIWG2S.
I’m inviting educators who teach in primary grades but it is open to all those who tech to join me for a podcast conversation about teaching practices around the book Tess's Red Dress.
This story opens an important doorway for talking with young learners about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, 2SLGBTQPlus(MMIWG) in ways that are thoughtful, age-appropriate, and grounded in care.
In this podcast, we will explore:
• Teaching strategies for primary classrooms
• How to introduce difficult histories with young children
• Ways to hold space for empathy, respect, and understanding
• Reflections from educators who are doing this work in their classrooms
If you are a teacher or educator working with young learners, I would love to hear your experiences and perspectives.
This conversation is about learning together and supporting one another as we bring important stories into our classrooms.
If you are interested in joining the podcast, please submit an application.