KAIROS Blanket Exercise Sep 30, 2022

What is the KAIROS blanket exercise?

The following information is taken from the KAIROS BLANKET EXERCISE COMMUNITY web site at https://www.kairosblanketexercise.org/programs/.

Developed in collaboration with Indigenous Elders, Knowledge Keepers and educators, the KAIROS Blanket Exercise (KBE) is an interactive and experiential teaching tool that explores the historic and contemporary relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the land we now know as Canada.

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.

Over the past two decades, thousands of KAIROS Blanket Exercises have been delivered in Canada and around the world, including in the United States, Central and South America, Europe, and Australia. By engaging participants on both emotional and intellectual levels, the KBE both educates and creates empathy and understanding.

Reconciliation through Education and Understanding at Lynn Valley United Church

Lynn Valley United Church will be hosting a Kairos Blanket Exercise on September 30, 2022, starting at 1 PM and running until 4 PM. The Kairos Blanket Exercise is a historical experience from the perspective of indigenous People.  Today, we use blankets as a teaching tool. The Blanket Exercise is a powerful way of learning about the history of the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. It is a time of listening that will aid reconciliation through learning and understanding. This will be an adult Kairos Blanket Exercise and is suitable for adults and youth in grades 11 and 12, particularly those in Indigenous or Native studies courses. If you are unable to stand for the blanket exercise you will be able to sit in a chair. Also those in wheel chairs are welcome. Each household is being invited to bring a blanket (old ones) which will not be returned to you. Come join us and take a step towards REAL Reconciliation by going through the blanket exercise on this most powerful of days for 1st Nation's the federal statutory holiday called the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.