The Blanket Exercise includes points of reference about the historical and contemporary relationship between Indigenous populations and the imposed colonial systems in Canada. This activity takes us through a historical timeline of events that have social, political, economic and racial identity implications on Indigenous populations.
The activity will involve the participants positioned on blankets laid out on the floor that represent the land of ‘Turtle Island’ (North America). The participants will play the role of the original peoples of the upper portion of Turtle Island, now known as Canada. Two facilitators will read the script, one will be the narrator and the other will play the part of the European colonizer imposing various laws and appropriating the lands throughout the activity.
Register: https://uwaterloo.ca/indigenization-strategy/calls-action/blanket-exercise or email k23davis@uwaterloo.ca
Please join us for this intellectual and emotional activity that serves to provide an account of historical events that are rarely taught currently in educational institutions across Turtle Island. Being informed is a key step towards reconciliation.
Ganohkwe:sra (Kindest regards)
Heyo:te’dok – Traditional Haudenosaunee name which translates to ‘Rites of Passage – Edge of the Field before the Forest’
Cayuga Nation Wolf Clan of the Haudenosaunee/Six Nations of the Grand River Territory
Kelly Fran Davis, B.Ed. Aboriginal Adult Education
Indigenization Strategy Research and Administrative Coordinator