The blanket exercise is an interactive educational program that teaches the history of colonization in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The program was created in response to the 1996 report of the

Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) was a Canadian royal commission established in 1991 with the aim of investigating the relationship between Indigenous peoples in Canada, the Government of Canada, and Canadian society as a whole. ...

, and is used as a teaching tool across Canada.

History

The 1996 report of the Royal Commission of Aboriginal Peoples contained recommendations to improve relationships between

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

and non-Indigenous Canadians, including education as one of the key steps to reconciliation. In response to these recommendations, KAIROS, a Canadian faith-based ecumenical organization, developed the program in 1997 in consultation with indigenous elders and representatives. The

Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...

in 2015 again identified education as a key area for improving relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada, after which the blanket exercise grew in popularity.

Format

Blanket exercise events tell the story of Canadian history from an Indigenous perspective. Participants stand on blankets that represent lands inhabited by

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

, and Métis people. The facilitator, playing the role of a European "

settler A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settl ...

", walks the group through a script, telling the story of the first contact between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. As the script progresses, blankets are folded and made smaller, representing the results of the loss of land by treaty and newly legislated reserves. People are asked to step off their blankets, symbolizing disease, war, and extinction. Blankets are removed or moved to other areas, showing the way land was taken and peoples relocated. At the end of the exercise, only a handful of "survivors" are left standing on small squares of blankets, representing the small number of Indigenous people remaining on their traditional lands in Canada. The exercise concludes with the participants discussing the experience in groups.

Events

Blanket exercises have taken place in churches, schools, community centres, and businesses across Canada. In May 2016, a series of blanket exercises were held in capital cities across Canada, culminating in a workshop on

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their archit ...

on May 31, with more than 800 participants.

References

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External links

Official website
History of Indigenous peoples in Canada First Nations education Indigenous peoples of North America