The Blanket Exercise is an experiential way of learning about the effects of colonialism on Indigenous peoples. As stated on Kairos webpage regarding this workshop, “everyone is actively involved as they step onto blankets that represent the land.”
The experience was quite impactful and upsetting. I was removed from the blankets fairly early on so the process of having people move together as blankets reduced in size had only just started. The sheer number of people that were asked to step off the blankets from smallpox infected blankets was heartbreaking. Then we had to watch from the sidelines as the blankets continued to get smaller, more people were asked to step off the blankets, people were asked to move to a different blanket or face away from each other all corresponding to real historical events and the consequences that followed. Our group was fairly small but the impact was still felt with how few of us remained on blankets at the end. All of the death and hardship that Indigenous peoples have been faced with over the past centuries could not have possibly fit into just over an hour of this exercise. However, being actively engaged, participating, and having this visual aided in the understanding of the level of devastation the Indigenous peoples have gone through. It is one thing to read about it but it really solidified my learning to have had this experience.
I would have really appreciated to have had this experience earlier in my life. So I am highly interested in bringing this into a classroom with a qualified host.