Trellis hosts Kairos Blanket Exercise at Civic Centre
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Trellis hosted a Kairos Blanket Exercise at the Strathmore Civic Centre, Nov. 24, which is an event designed to help non-Indigenous people understand recent Indigenous history in Canada.
“The Kairos Blanket Exercise is a visual experience – it is for things that have happened to people in Canada. The exercise that we host is specifically for the Treaty 7 area,” said Verona Wood, a youth and family support worker who spoke on behalf of Trellis. “What it is, is a visual interactive experience for people so that they understand and are able to experience what has happened to the Indigenous population over the years – everything from what it looked like in the beginning to what it looks like now.”
Attendees take part in a series of exercises which mimic the impacts of colonization on Indigenous peoples and their lands.
Additionally, the activities demonstrate an idea of how many people were impacted by the effects of disease, and residential schools, among other factors.
According to Wood, the event is usually very well-attended, with a tendency to see maximum capacity.
“The impact that we are hoping to have is just to actually share. A lot of people, they do not understand what has happened to the Indigenous people,” she said. “There are so many different stereotypes for the Indigenous population that we want to help people to question misconceptions of the Indigenous population, understand why people are the way they are.”
Trellis makes efforts to host two Kairos Blanket Exercises per year in Strathmore and anyone is welcome to attend.
The exercises are free to attend with registration prior to the event. Folks are requested to register ahead of time to ensure there are enough slots for everyone, and anyone who attends will be able to be fed.
“We just want to share our truth; it is not about putting blame or for people to have ownership of blame or anything like that. All we are asking is that people come and learn and understand the things that are going on with Indigenous people,” said Wood. “Reconciliation is not just for the non-Indigenous people who want to learn … we also have to be able to open up our hearts and be able to teach for non-Indigenous people. We all have to work together to create a safe environment for our children.”
Trellis has not yet indicated when the next Kairos Blanket exercise will be taking place, though there will be at least one in Strathmore over the course of 2024.