Written By Jan Sims
COLDSTREAM - The Coldstream Library will be hosting a KAIROS Blanket Exercise on Saturday September 27th from 1 pm to 4 pm. The Blanket Exercise is an Indigenous way to help build trust about our shared history.
Leading the exercise will be Maryanne Kechego, a member of the Oneida Nation of the Thames and a distinguished Knowledge Keeper. “During this 2 to 3-hour workshop, participants step on blankets representing the land and into the role of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. They are guided by trained facilitators, including Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers, who work from a script that covers pre-contact, treaty-making, colonization, resistance and much more. Participants read scrolls and respond to cues in the script. The KBE concludes with a debriefing, conducted as a talking circle, during which participants discuss the learning experience, process their feelings, ask questions, share insights, and deepen their understanding,” says Kechego.
There will be two facilitators conducting the sessions. Coldstream library Branch Manager, Leslie-Anne Steeper-Doxtator says there is room for 30 participants at the event. “It is an experiential learning tool that uses storytelling and role-playing to teach participants about Canadian history from an Indigenous perspective, fostering a deeper understanding of colonization’s impact, the historical context of the current relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, and the path towards reconciliation,” says Steeper-Doxtator.
The Kairos Blanket Exercise was created in 1997 by the Aboriginal Rights Coalition, initially to introduce Canadians to the major themes and findings of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. “By physically removing blankets to represent land loss and trauma, participants can gain an emotional connection to these difficult truths, which traditional lectures cannot achieve,” says Steeper-Doxtator. “I hope the participants will get a better understanding of how Indigenous people feel about their colonial history and the way they were treated. There is still work to be done. Only 10 calls to action have been addressed or acted on out of the 94 TRC calls to action. It is time to ‘ReconciliACTION’,” adds Steeper-Doxtator.
People can register online through library.middlesex.ca For information on the Blanket Exercise, visit kairosblanketexerdise.org.
