The Blanket Exercise: Reflections

The Blanket Exercise – A Deep Dive into the Past
November, 2019

It was a bright mid November afternoon. A fire blazed away in the wood stove in the Main Hall of the Deanery, and a quiet, diverse circle of twenty eight people from across HRM and beyond gathered with Kairos facilitators and Mi’kmaq Elders to explore the history of the nation-to-nation relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the land we call Canada.

Colourful blankets arranged on the floor filled the circle to represent land. The Kairos facilitators then led an exercise they have offered thousands of times to organizations, businesses and schools across Canada since 1997. As participants we interacted with the land by walking the circle, listening to and reading aloud fragments of the history of colonization. As the story was told, the blankets were resized and participants were asked to step away, representing land and lives stolen over the years of settler colonization. After moving through a history of a few hundred years, participants arrived at the present day – only a few folded blankets and a scattering of participants remained.

After the Exercise, everyone returned to their seats for a sharing circle, profoundly moved by the history had just been told.  Participant El Horner reflected, “I particularly appreciated the clearly guided facilitation which allowed participants to fully step in, trusting to be guided through the many difficult topics of the workshop. The nature of the workshop encouraged honesty that is hard to find, and inspires me to work towards further learning and reconciliation. I intend to recommend the Blanket Exercise to many family and friends.”

Lolo added, “I felt so grateful to have had the opportunity to be part of a circle of acknowledgment of the history of Turtle Island and of honest truth-telling. It was a grounding relief to open and witness an understanding of that story…and to practice the culture of care that is necessary to be able to hold hard truths while looking toward change.”

The KAIROS Blanket Exercise is a unique, participatory history lesson – developed in collaboration with Indigenous Elders, knowledge keepers and educators – that fosters truth, understanding, respect and reconciliation among Indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. Any group is welcomed to invite Kairos to lead a workshop with them. We were honoured to have Elder Billy Lewis, Joan Smith, Mary and Doug Rigby lead the program at the Deanery Project.

For more information www.kairosblanketexercise.org  and Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre tel. (902) 420-1576.