Awareness-raising activity
With John Henri Commanda
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The Blanket Exercise is an awareness-raising activity designed to increase knowledge and understanding of the colonial history and experience of dispossession experienced by the Indigenous peoples of Quebec and Canada, and its repercussions on the current realities of Indigenous peoples.
Workshop in French.
Ages 14 and up.
30 participants maximum.
Created by the Canadian association KAIROS, it is presented as an “interactive exercise in awareness of colonial history and the reality of the experience of Indigenous peoples”.
This experiential and participatory approach enables participants to experience certain historical situations concretely (pre-contact, treaty-making, colonization, resistance, etc.). They are invited to move around on blankets representing Turtle Island (Canada) and are assigned the roles of First Nations, Inuit and, later, Métis. The facilitators read the script and take on the roles of European explorers and colonizers.
By offering this exercise alongside Raven Mother, we aim to provide an opportunity for learning and reflection on the history and culture of Indigenous peoples, actively engaging participants in an immersive and interactive experience.
With John Henri Commanda
John Henri Commanda is Anishinaabe (Ojibway) of the Eagle Clan, and is a member of Dokis First Nation.
He is also President of Mahingan Consulting, a firm that offers Indigenous Awareness Training, including Kairos Blanket Exercise (KBE). He has a long experience with the federal government, including several Aboriginal empowerment initiatives in the public service. He has also served the larger community as president of two Friendship Centres.
History of the Kairos Blanket Exercise
Created in 1997 by the Aboriginal Rights Coalition (ARC), a precursor to KAIROS, the Kairos Blanket Exercise (KBE) was initially meant to introduce Canadians to the major themes and findings of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP).
The Coalition brought together Elders, Indigenous educators, and allies who wanted to make sure that RCAP and its recommendations were not shelved and forgotten. The KBE is built on the foundation of these long-standing, collaborative initiatives and relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples to raise awareness of continuing injustices and impacts of colonization and to promote further learning. For over two decades, ARC and now KAIROS have guided its ongoing development with the leadership of Elders and Indigenous facilitators across this land.
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