The Blanket Exercise

A teaching tool by KAIROS to raise awareness and understanding of the nation to

nation relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Two Versions Included: Grades 4-8 and Grades 9-12/Adult
Welcome to the In this booklet you will find two different versions of the
script: one for grades 4-8 and one for grades 9-12/adults.

Blanket Exercise
The KAIROS Blanket Exercise is an enormously popular
and successful teaching tool that uses participatory
popular education methodology to raise awareness of the
nation-to-nation relationship between Indigenous and non-
Indigenous peoples in Canada, and to teach a history
of Canada that most people do not learn.
Hopefully doing the Blanket Exercise will inspire participants
to take action on the injustices facing Indigenous peoples.
At the end of the booklet you will find a list of suggested
follow-up activities.
You are invited to explore and use this exercise in your
community, school, group, or place of worship. Please do
not hesitate to contact us with questions on any stage of
the process, or with advice on how we can make the Blanket
Exercise even better!

Since its creation in 1997, it has been done hundreds of

times with thousands of people of all ages and from all
About KAIROS:
KAIROS unites eleven national Canadian churches and
backgrounds, by a wide variety of groups, both Indigenous
religious organizations in faithful work for human rights
and non-Indigenous, as a way to open, or continue, the
and ecological justice through research, education,
conversation about decolonization.
partnership, and advocacy. In 1996, RCAP concluded that
Designed to deepen understanding of the denial of public education is key to realizing a renewed relationship
Indigenous peoples’ nationhood, the Blanket Exercise between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples - one
explores the major themes and recommendations of the based on sharing, respect and the mutual recognition of
Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP), examines rights and responsibilities. Through creative and innovative
how federal policies and programs impact the lives public education initiatives and campaigns such as the
of Indigenous peoples in Canada, and identifies what Blanket Exercise, KAIROS works towards a just, peaceful
Indigenous peoples and their allies are doing to bring and respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-
about positive change. Indigenous peoples that recognizes Indigenous peoples’
rights, including the right to self-determination.
As the name suggests, the Blanket Exercise begins with
blankets arranged on the floor to represent Canada
before the arrival of Europeans. The participants, who
represent Indigenous peoples, begin by moving around
on the blankets. While a narrator reads from a script,
other participants – representing the Europeans or
newcomers - join and begin to interact with those on the
blankets. As the script traces the history of the relationship
between Europeans and Indigenous nations in Canada,
the participants respond to various cues and interact by
reading prepared scrolls. At the end of the exercise only a
few people remain on blankets which have been folded into
small bundles and cover only a fraction of their original area.

2 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012

Goal:
To engage participants in the historic relationship between
Europeans and the Indigenous nations, and in the
colonization of the land we now call Canada.
What you need:
• 10 (or more) blankets
• Scrolls - At the end of each of the two versions of the
script you will find the corresponding “scrolls”. Print these
pages, roll them as scrolls, and indicate on the outside
their type and number. If possible, use coloured paper to
distinguish the scrolls from each other to make them
easier to identify during the exercise. Note that the scrolls
with letters are used by the European character(s).
• Index cards: white, yellow and blue (if you don’t have
coloured cards you can always write the colour on the
cards, or on pieces of paper). You will need enough white
and yellow cards for just over half of the participants, and
two blue cards. Mark one of the yellow cards with an “X”.
• A narrator and at least one person to act as the European.
• 3 maps from the Report of the Royal Commission on
Aboriginal Peoples, which you will find in the centre of the the participants and may avoid lingering questions about
booklet – “Turtle Island”, “Treaties” and “Aboriginal Lands
Today”. (You may consider scanning these and presenting
them on a projector).
Time required:
Doing the Blanket Exercise takes at least 45 minutes; it’s
always better not to rush it. Reflecting together afterwards is
important, so take as much time as possible. The larger the
group, the more time you will need.
Preparation:
Depending on the age of the participants, choose the
appropriate version of the Blanket Exercise script and read
over it carefully. Ideally, speak to one or two people ahead
of time, give them a copy of the script, and ask if they
would agree to play the role of the European(s) (or choose
a confident member of your group on the spot). Copy and
roll the scrolls, identifying them on the outside by number
or letter and type. For the grades 4-8 script, the scrolls for
photocopying are found on page 15 and for the Grades
9-12/adult script, the scrolls are on page 43. Also, gather the
necessary number of coloured cards.
The ideal number of participants for this exercise is about
25, but it can be easily and successfully adapted for smaller
groups by having participants read more than one scroll.
The key is to ensure that there are some participants left on
the blankets at the end of the exercise. Groups larger than
25 can also be easily accommodated by using the “fish-bowl”
approach, which means having have some participants play
active roles on the blankets while others observe in a circle
around the group and help to read the scrolls.
As the facilitator, please keep in mind that some groups find
the exercise emotional and will react in different ways. Some
may laugh inappropriately or get angry. It is important to
remember this during the debrief session. You may want to
consider asking the group why certain reactions happened
at certain points. This type of discussion can help sensitize
what kind of behaviour or reaction is appropriate.
Some concepts and terminology to
review before getting started:
What is a treaty?
Treaties are internationally binding agreements between
sovereign nations. Hundreds of treaties of peace and
friendship were concluded between the European settlers
and First Nations during the period prior to confederation.
These treaties promoted peaceful coexistence and the
sharing of resources. After Confederation, the European
settlers pursued treaty making as a tool to acquire vast
tracts of land, and the numbered treaties 1 through 11
were concluded between First Nations and the Crown.
For Indigenous peoples, treaties outline the rights and
responsibilities of all parties to the agreement. In the
Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 3
traditions of Indigenous treaty making, these are oral
agreements. In addition, they are “vital, living instruments
of relationship” (RCAP) that involve all Canadians.
“To us the answer is not about incremental change, it is not
about just concrete action, it is also repairing the relationship.
And the way to repair the relationship between us and Canada
is to have this country acknowledge that its richness and its
wealth come from their one‐sided interpretation of the treaties.
There has to be henceforth a double understanding of what
those treaties represent.” (Ovide Mecredi, Crown-First Nations
Gathering 2012)
What does it mean to be a sovereign nation?
A sovereign nation enjoys the right to self-determination
and has a governance structure and territory that is
recognized by other nations. While European nations
focus on the protection of individual rights, Indigenous
nations centre on collective rights such as land, language,
spiritual traditions, and self-governance, to name a few.
Indigenous individuals rely on strong nations for their
well-being because they protect and nurture the collective
rights through which an individual finds cultural meaning
and identity. The Indigenous struggle for sovereignty
is a struggle for nationhood and many believe that the
recognition of Indigenous nationhood will enhance, not
diminish, Canadian sovereignty. The treaties are central to
sovereignty and nationhood as they address how to coexist
as distinct peoples.
What is the difference between equity and equality?
Equality means each person gets the same treatment or
the same amount of something. It involves systematically
dividing something into equal parts. Equity, on the other
hand, recognizes that not everyone has the same needs.
It is about justice and a fair process that leads to an equal
outcome. Equity takes into account the injustices of the past
and how they have placed some in positions of privilege
while others face significant barriers to achieving well-being.
4 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012
Terminology
Indigenous peoples is a term for which there is no one
definition because it is up to each Indigenous person to
define themselves, something that for far too long has been
done by others. Cree lawyer Sharon Venne suggests that
being Indigenous means being “descendants of the people
occupying a territory when the colonizers arrived.”
Indigenous is a word that has come into widespread
use through the recognition that those people who are
the original inhabitants of a place, and who have been
marginalized by ethnic groups who arrived later, have much
in common with other peoples worldwide with the same
experience.
Not only does the word speak to global solidarity amongst
these peoples, but it has important legal significance as
well. Indigenous peoples’ rights have been recognized at
the international level in various ways but most importantly
in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples, which was adopted by the United Nations General
Assembly in 2007.
When we speak of peoples, as opposed to people, it is a
recognition of collective rights; that each Indigenous people
is a distinct entity with its own cultural and political rights.
Aboriginal peoples refers to the original peoples of North
America who belong to historic, cultural and political
entities. Canada’s Constitution Act, 1982 recognizes three
groups of Aboriginal peoples: First Nations, Inuit and Métis.
There are a number of synonyms for Aboriginal peoples,
including Indigenous peoples, First Peoples, and original
peoples. None of these terms should be used to describe
only one or two of the groups.
Because Aboriginal peoples is the term used in Canada’s
constitution, it has specific importance within a Canadian
legal context.
First Nations is not a legal term but replaces “Indian” in
common usage. There are many First Nations in Canada:
Innu, Cree, Salteaux, Ojibwe, Haida, Dene, Mohawk, Maliseet,
Mi’kmaq, Blood, Shuswap, etc., each with its own history,
culture, and traditions.

Inuit are the Indigenous Circumpolar people of Canada and

other northern countries. They were formerly called Eskimo,
which the Inuit consider a derogatory term. In Canada,
the Inuit live in Nunavut, Northwest Territories, northern
Quebec, Labrador and, in recent years, southern Canadian
cities as well.

Métis are the mixed-blood descendants of French and

Scottish fur traders and other early settlers, and Cree,
Ojibwe, Saulteaux and Assiniboine women. They have their
own culture and history. As is the case with many Aboriginal
languages, the Métis language, Michif, is endangered. Métis
society and culture were established before European
settlement was entrenched.

Assimilation is the process of absorbing one cultural group

into another. This can be pursued through harsh and extreme
state policies such as removing children from their families
and placing them in the homes or institutions of another
culture. Forcing a people to assimilate through legislation is
cultural genocide—the intent is to eradicate a culture.

Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 5

The Blanket
Exercise for
Grades 4-8
Beginning…
If this is your first session together as a group, ensure you
spend some time getting to know one another. Set some
group norms that will guide how you act towards one another.
Consider showing the Public Service Alliance of Canada video
“Justice for Aboriginal Peoples - It’s time” http://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=r5DrXZUIinU. Let the group know that the
Blanket Exercise explores the issues raised in the video.
Hearing Indigenous Voices
Invite someone in the group to read aloud each of the
following three quotations from young Indigenous people.
You will find the scrolls formatted for photocopying starting
on page 15.
Participant: Hearing Indigenous Voices Scroll 1- “I know
what the government did in the past; they said where
we had to live. I know that we’re not treated equally now,
because I can feel it. We’re all Canadians and we should all
be treated equally.”—Cassie, from a Mi’kmaq community in
Nova Scotia
Participant: Hearing Indigenous Voices Scroll 2- “You have
to remember that the Canadian government has done a lot
to Aboriginal people that was meant to make us become
like Europeans. For example, in residential schools, my
grandmother told me you couldn’t speak our language or
you’d get beaten; you couldn’t see your parents – things like
that. We didn’t have voting rights for a long time. We also
lost a lot of our culture.”—Heather, from a Cree community in
Saskatchewan
6 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012
Participant: Hearing Indigenous Voices Scroll 3- “One
of my favourite things about my culture is how we’re
taught that everything on the Earth is to be respected. It’s
an important part of the culture and covers everything.
That includes respecting yourself. Respecting yourself is
one of the most important things my culture has taught
me. Also, the land, water, plants, air and animals are all
very important to our culture and need to be respected.
Without any of it, what would we be?”—Kateri, from a
Mohawk community in Quebec
Opening Discussion Questions
(optional):
• What does the term Indigenous mean? Aboriginal?
First Nation? Inuit? Métis?
• Has anyone heard the word assimilation before?
Assimilation means being made to be like everyone else.
Is it a good or bad thing? What if you are forced to “be like
everyone else”?
• What is a treaty?
• Do you think Canada does a good job respecting other
peoples’ cultures? Why or why not?
• What does it mean to be a nation?
N.B. These terms and concepts are explained for facilitators on
pages 3-4.
Sum up the conversation by saying
something such as:
Sometimes we hear about European explorers “discovering”
what we now call North America. But it was really more
like this: Europeans arrived and found many nations living
here—different nations, each with its own language, culture
and form of government. In some cases women were the
ones who held the powerful roles in the communities.
We call these Indigenous nations because they were the
original people living on this land. Europeans realized that
if they wanted to live on this land they needed to make Share that for some this exercise may bring up difficult
agreements with these nations, agreements or “treaties”. feelings. Assure participants that the last step will be an
We are going to learn about how those first agreements opportunity for people to share their feelings in a
between nations, agreements of peace and friendship, did respectful way.
not last. Or maybe it is clearer to say that Europeans did not
Lay the blankets on the floor up against each other so as
keep up their side of the agreements. We want to have a
to create a blanketed area large enough to accommodate
good relationship in Canada between the descendents of
all the participants. Fold one blanket and set it aside.
the original people (the great, great, great... grandchildren
Invite everyone to remove their shoes and to stand on the
of those who first lived here) and the people who have come
blankets. Ask them to move around on the blankets – to use
as newcomers, whether that was a long time ago or recently.
and occupy the land - as if they were living on it. Ask your
To do that we need to remember that the Indigenous
volunteer(s) / European(s) to stand with you.
peoples who lived here first were nations. We need to share
and respect each other and remember that each of us
has a role to play in Canada. This is not always easy to do,
especially when there have been so many problems with
the relationship along the way.

Learning through Experiencing:

The Blanket Exercise
Tell participants they are about to participate in an
interactive exercise designed to deepen their understanding
of what happened when Europeans first came to Canada.
Ask participants to notice how First Nations, Inuit and later
Métis peoples lost their land. Invite participants to try and
imagine what that feels like, and what it means in all parts
of their life. Ask participants to note what Indigenous
peoples did to preserve their languages and their cultures
and to prevent being forced to be like everyone else.

Use the three maps from the Report of the Royal

Commission on Aboriginal Peoples that are included in
this booklet – “Turtle Island”, “Treaties” and “Aboriginal
Lands Today” – to explain that we will learn how we went
from a time when Indigenous peoples used all the land
we call Canada (what some Indigenous peoples refer to as
“Turtle Island”) to a time when land reserved for Indigenous
peoples is only a very tiny part of the land of Canada.
Note: reserves below the 60th parallel are only one tenth
of one per cent of Canada’s land mass.

Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 7

Script
Narrator: These blankets represent the northern part of
Turtle Island, or what we now know as North America,
before the arrival of Europeans. You represent the
Indigenous peoples, the original peoples.
Long before the arrival of Europeans, Turtle Island was
your home, and home to millions of people like you
living in hundreds of nations. You fished and hunted and
farmed. Each community had its own language, culture,
traditions, laws and governments. These communities
worked together and cooperated with one another. Before
the newcomers arrived, you, the original peoples, ended
disputes by making treaties.
Optional: Consider having students form different groups and
act out the tasks they would be performing on a daily basis.
Narrator: The land is very important to you. All of your
needs – food, clothing, shelter, culture, your spirituality – are
taken care of by the land - by the blankets. In return, you
take very seriously your responsibility to take care of the land.
Optional question: In what ways do you think that
Indigenous peoples’ needs were met by the land?
Introduce the volunteer(s) representing the European settlers.
Narrator: Things were happening in Europe at the end of
the 15th century that would mean a huge change for you.
In 1493, the King and Queen of Spain asked Pope Alexander
to make a statement that would help Spain’s explorers when
they arrived in new lands. The statement was called the
“Doctrine of Discovery” and this is what it said:
European - Scroll A (unrolls and reads in a loud voice):
According to the Doctrine of Discovery nations that are not
Christian cannot own land. The Indigenous peoples living on
this land will be put under the protection and supervision of
the Christian nations that “discover” their lands.
8 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012
Narrator: And so began the process of the European
“discovery” of Turtle Island that started in the east and
moved across the continent.
The European(s) step(s) on the blankets and begins shaking
hands and milling around. While shaking hands, he/she/they
give(s) out white index cards to about half the participants, and
yellow cards to about one-third of the remaining participants.
One of the yellow cards should have an “X” on it. Give blue
cards to two participants. (Note: If the group is large enough,
ensure that at least 10 participants do not receive cards.)
Narrator: When the Europeans first arrived on Turtle Island
there were many more Indigenous people than Europeans.
The newcomers depended on you for their survival, and
you helped them to understand how you did things - how
you taught your children, how you took care of people
who were sick, how you lived off the land, and how your
governments worked.
In the beginning there was lots of cooperation and support
between you and the settlers. The settlers and their leaders
recognized you, the First Peoples, as having your own
governments, laws and territories. They recognized you as
sovereign nations.
They made agreements or treaties with you. These
treaties explained how you were going to share the land
and the water, the animals, and the plants. Two of the
oldest agreements – the Covenant Chain and the Two
Row Wampum – were between the Europeans and the
Haudenosaunee, who live in the east in what we now call
Quebec, Ontario and the state of New York.
These treaties were very important because they were
agreements between you and the kings and queens of
countries in Europe. They made these agreements with
you because you were here first, the land belonged to you,
and you had your own governments. The treaties formally
recognized your power and independence as nations.
The Europeans understood they could not force their laws or
ways on you, the Indigenous peoples. They understood that
you had rights.
European - Scroll B (unrolls and reads in a loud voice):
In the Royal Proclamation of 1763, King George said the
Indigenous nations own their lands, and that the only legal
way newcomers could gain control of those lands was by
making treaties between the two nations. 2013 marks the
250th anniversary of the Royal Proclamation.
Narrator: Later on, the Government of Canada was formed,
and the Royal Proclamation became part of Canadian law.
For you, the Indigenous peoples, the treaties were very
special and sacred agreements. They were statements of
peace, friendship, and sharing, and they were based on
respect and honesty.
Treaties explained how the land and waters would be
shared, and tried to make sure there would be peace
between you, the original peoples, and the newcomers.
Sharing was very important to you. The hunters shared their
food with everyone. And the families helped one another
raise the children.
In the treaties, you tried to help the Europeans understand
what you meant by sharing.
At this point, the European(s) begin(s) to slowly fold the
blankets, making the blanket space smaller and smaller.
The participants are reminded they must NOT step off the
blankets. The objective is to stay on the blankets, even as
they get smaller.
Narrator: But the Europeans didn’t see it that way. They
had a different view of the treaties. For them, land was
something that could be bought and sold, and treaties were
a way of getting you, the Indigenous peoples to give up
your land.
After a while, you didn’t get along very well with the
Europeans. When the War of 1812 ended, the Europeans no
longer needed you to help them with the fighting.
As the fur trade dried up, the European newcomers turned
more and more to farming and started looking for more land.
Before too long, there were more Europeans than
Indigenous peoples. One reason was the diseases the
Europeans brought with them, diseases such as small pox,
measles and TB. You, the Indigenous peoples, suffered badly
from these diseases because you had never had them in
your communities before. Millions of you died. In fact, there
are some people who believe that fully half the Indigenous
people alive at the time died from these diseases. In some
communities, nine out of ten people died.
The Narrator asks those participants with white index cards
to step off the blanket as they represent those who died of
the various diseases.
Please be silent for a moment to remember those who died
from the diseases.
One European walks to a person, hands them the folded
blanket and reads:
European - Scroll C: Blankets infested with the small pox
virus were given or traded to the Indigenous people by
military leaders such as Lord Jeffrey Amherst. You represent
the many Indigenous people who died from small pox after
having come into contact with such blankets. Please step off
the blanket.
The European then walks to one person in the “east” and reads:
European - Scroll D: You represent the Beothuk, the original
people of what is now called Newfoundland. Your people
are now extinct. When the Europeans arrived you lost
important food sources. Your people died from diseases you
had never seen before. Many of your people died in violent
fights with trappers and settlers. Some of your people were
hunted down and killed. Please step off the blankets.
Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 9
 The European(s) and the Narrator walk to the “south” and
choose two people who are standing close together.
Narrator: You represent the First Nations that were divided
when the border between the United States and British
Canada was created. This border divides communities and cuts
you off from each other. Please move to separate blankets.
The European(s) guide(s) each person to a separate blanket,
and then walk(s) with the Narrator to the “west” where they
choose one person.
Narrator: Construction of the railway opened up the
prairies to settlers. Land was needed for farming and
the Government of Canada bought a huge piece of land
from the Hudson’s Bay Company. This was very hard for
some of you who were already living there such as the
Métis and the Cree. You, the Métis, fought for your land
and were sometimes joined by the Cree. You won some
of these battles, but in the end you were defeated by the
government’s soldiers. Please step off the blanket as you
represent those Métis or Cree leaders who died in battle,
were put in jail, or were executed.
The European(s) and the Narrator walk to the “north”.
Narrator: In the High Arctic, Inuit communities were moved
to isolated, unfamiliar, and barren lands, often with very
bad results.
European - Scroll E: You represent those First Peoples – the
Inuit, and the Innu at Davis Inlet, and many other Indigenous
communities – who suffered and sometimes died because
you were forced to move to an unfamiliar place. Please move
one of the blankets away from the others, fold it small and
sit down on it.
The European(s) take(s) a blanket, folds it small and directs
the group to this blanket.
Narrator: Those with blue cards, step off the blankets. You
represent those who died of hunger after being forced off
your original land and away from your hunting grounds.
10 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012
Optional Question: Why would moving to a different place
be so difficult for people who live off the land?
Narrator: As more Europeans arrived, they needed more
land. Many of the Europeans thought they were better than
other people, including you. Soon, they didn’t think of you
as friends and partners, but as a “problem” to be solved.
The Europeans started ignoring or changing their laws to
make it easier for them to take your land. Some land was
taken in war. Some land was taken after you died.
As Indigenous peoples, you lost more than just your land.
Because the land is so important to you, when it was taken
away some of you also lost your way of living, your culture
and, in some cases, your reason to live.
The European(s) and the Narrator present nine participants
– either on or off the blankets - with numbered scrolls. The
Narrator asks each participant to unroll the scroll and read
it aloud. With smaller groups, each participant can read
more than one scroll.
Participant - Scroll 1: Terra Nullius – The idea of Terra Nullius,
which in Latin means “empty land” – gave the newcomers the
right to take over any “empty” land found by explorers.
Narrator: These were usually the lands used by Indigenous
peoples for hunting and trapping. In other words, if the
newcomers thought the land was “empty” they would take
it. But, because the land wasn’t “empty” they changed the
idea to include lands not being used by “civilized” peoples,
or lands not being put to “civilized” use.
It was the Europeans who decided what it meant to be
“civilized”, and they decided that because you and your
people were not using the land in a “civilized way”, they could
take it and there was nothing you could do to stop them.
Participant - Scroll 2: The BNA (British North America) Act
– The BNA Act, also known as the Constitution Act, 1867, put
“Indians and Lands reserved for Indians” under the control
of the federal government.
Narrator: When this happened, it meant you lost your
rights, and control over your lands. In other words, the law
gave control of your lands to the Government of Canada,
which was made up of people from Europe. Of course, you,
the Indigenous people, were not involved in the creation of
this law that would have such a big impact on your lives.
More and more the plan was to try and make you like the
Europeans.
Participant - Scroll 3: Indian Act – In 1876 all the laws
dealing with Indigenous peoples were gathered together
and put into the Indian Act.
European - Scroll F, Part I (in a loud voice): Now hear
this! According to the Indian Act of 1876 and the British
North America Act of 1867, you and all of your territories
are now under the direct control of the Canadian federal
government. You will now be placed on reserves. Please fold
your blankets until they are just large enough to stand on.
Narrator: The Indian Act completely changed your lives as
Indigenous peoples. As long as your cultures were strong,
it was difficult for the government to take your land and
so the government used the Indian Act to attack who
you were as peoples. Hunting and fishing was restricted
and your spiritual ceremonies - including the potlatch,
pow-wow and sundance - were outlawed. You went from
being strong, independent First Nations, with your own
governance structures, to isolated and poor ‘bands’ that
depended on the government for almost everything. You
were treated like children and became the responsibility of
the federal government. Through the Indian Act, the federal
government has denied you your basic rights, things that
most Canadians take for granted, such as healthy schools,
proper housing and clean running water.
European - Scroll F, Part II: You may not leave your reserve
without a permit. You may not vote. You may not get
together to talk about your rights. You may not practice your
spirituality or your traditional forms of government. If you
do any of these things, you may be put in jail.
Narrator: The Indian Act also tried to stop Indigenous
peoples from fighting to keep their land. For example, under
the Indian Act, it was against the law to raise money to fight
for land rights in the courts until the 1950s.
The Inuit were included under the Indian Act in 1939, but the
Métis never were.
Participant - Scroll 4: Enfranchisement – Under this federal
government policy, all First Nations people who became
doctors, teachers, or who joined other professions, would
lose their legal Indian status. This was called being granted
“enfranchisement”.
Narrator: In other words, the government would treat
Indigenous people entering professions as Canadians. This
means the government no longer legally recognized you as
Indigenous people.
Since this included lawyers, it prevented you from using
the courts to protect your land rights during the first half
of the 1900s.
Participant - Scroll 5: Assimilation – The government
thought the “Indian problem” would solve itself as more
and more Indigenous people died from diseases and
others became part of the larger Canadian society. As one
government employee said, the government’s goal was “to
continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has
not been absorbed into the body politic and that there is no
Indian problem and no Indian Department.” [Indian Affairs
deputy superintendent Duncan Campbell Scott]
Narrator: The idea was that Indigenous people had to
become more like the Europeans. You had to give up your
rights and become like other Canadians. You had to farm like
them, go to the same schools, and pray in the same churches.
Participant - Scroll 6: Residential Schools – From 1820 until
1970s, the federal government took First Nations, Inuit and
Métis children from their homes and communities and put
them in boarding schools that were run by churches. These
schools were often very far from your homes. In most cases
Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 11
you were not allowed to speak your own language. Most of
you stayed at the school for 8-10 months, while others stayed
all year. The last Indian residential school closed in 1996.
All people with yellow cards must now move to a separate,
empty blanket. You represent those who were taken out of
your communities and placed in residential schools far from
your homes.
Narrator: While some students say they had positive
experiences at the schools, many of you say that you
suffered from very bad conditions and from different kinds
of abuse. Many of you lost family connections and didn’t
learn your language, culture and traditions. Because you
grew up in the schools and rarely went home, many of you
never learned how to be good parents. Some students died
at the schools. Many of you never returned home, or were
treated badly if you did.
The Narrator asks the person with the yellow index card
marked with an “X” to please step off the blanket. That
person represents those students who died as a result of
their experience at residential schools. The narrator asks
another person with a yellow index card to return to their
home community. The community members should all turn
their backs on the returning person to represent the isolation
people often faced when returning to a community they had
been taken from.
Narrator: And this is not a story from the past. You are still
treated differently. Your schools don’t get as much money.
Indigenous children are still much more likely to be taken
from their homes and placed in foster care.
Please be silent for another moment to honour those who
died or were shunned because of residential schools.
Participant - Scroll 7: The 1969 White Paper – This
proposed federal law again tried to solve the “Indian
problem” by getting you, the Indigenous peoples, to give up
your rights and become like other Canadians.
12 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012
Narrator: You were outraged by this attempt to take
away even more of your rights and organized to defeat it.
Please unfold one corner of your blankets to represent this
strong act of resistance against losing your rights, and give
yourselves a round of applause.
The European(s) can step in and stop the participants from
unfolding more than a small corner of their blankets.
Participant - Scroll 8: Broken promises – Over the years,
more than 70 per cent of the land set aside for you in the
treaties has been lost or stolen by the government. Rarely
has the government tried to replace this land, or tried to
give you something in return for its use.
European - Scroll G: Meanwhile, the treaties are ignored
by non-Indigenous people and big companies are allowed
to make lots and lots of money from Indigenous lands and
natural resources, while you the Indigenous peoples get
little but the pollution, and future generations are left to
clean up the mess.
Narrator: Although you are living on very rich land, you
continue to live in poverty. As Douglas, a Lubicon Cree
student said, “there is a light on the side of the pump house
that goes red. That tells us that there’s no water and that’s
when we can’t go to school on some days.” In fact, First
Nations schools receive $2000-$3000 less per student than
provincially run schools.
And yet, for you the Indigenous peoples, treaties continue to
be important, special agreements that explain how the land
can be shared equally and peacefully. Unfortunately, this
view of treaties is not shared by the government and many
non-Indigenous people, who see treaties as documents that
give them control of the land.
Participant - Scroll 9: U.N. Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples - The Declaration is a set of international
standards on the rights of Indigenous peoples. It took
over 20 years to write and is one of the most debated and
thought-out human rights document in U.N. history. It is
unique because for the first time in U.N. history, those who Most Indigenous groups and their allies see Canada’s
are affected by the Declaration, you the Indigenous peoples, endorsement of the Declaration as an important first step
were an important part of its development. towards a new relationship that protects their rights.

The Narrator asks all the remaining participants to unfold
one small part of their blankets. Again, if too much is being
unfolded the European(s) can intervene.
Narrator: Please give yourselves a round of applause.
The Narrator asks one person to read the following quote:
Participant – Hearing Indigenous Voices Scroll 4: “It
is about our relationships with each other, our lands,
natural resources, our laws, our rights, our languages, our
spirituality, our ways of life.”­—Phil Fontaine, Former National
Chief of the Assembly of First Nations
Narrator: In 2007 the majority of countries in the United
Nations voted to adopt the United Nations Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Government of Canada
voted against the Declaration, along with the United States,
Australia and New Zealand. The Government of Canada
said that as an international human rights instrument for
Indigenous peoples, the Declaration could threaten the
rights of non-Indigenous peoples.
The Government of Canada and the United Nations have
said again and again that your situation - the situation
facing First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada - is
Canada’s most important human rights issue. According to
the U.N., Canada is often ranked one of the ten best places in
the world to live. However, using the same measuring stick,
your living conditions as Indigenous peoples in Canada are
more like those of much poorer countries.
The Narrator asks one person to read the following quote:
Participant – Hearing Indigenous Voices Scroll 5: “As an
individual I am scared for my own education and how my
life that’s ahead of me is going to be like, if I don’t qualify to
get into college. Life for us will gradually get worse, as yours
gets easier, that’s not fair for us. We deserve better, much,
much better.”—Vicky, First Nations student
Ask people to look around. At this point, there should be
a few people standing on very small areas of blankets. Ask
them to remember what it looked like when they started the
exercise and what it looks like now.

Optional: Explain how this is the same as saying that

other international human rights instruments, such as the
U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, threaten the
rights of adults. Explain that this is not true and rather that
specific groups in society that are sometimes persecuted or
vulnerable, need special attention to make sure their rights
are not violated.

Narrator: In 2008, over 100 experts said Canada’s

reasons for opposing the Declaration don’t make sense.
The Government of Canada finally endorsed the Declaration
on November 12, 2010, but with qualifications. The
Government said it would support the Declaration as long
as it is consistent with Canada’s laws and policies, including
the Indian Act.

Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 13

Debrief and Follow-up
Ask participants to sit in a circle to debrief their experiences.
Having the speaker hold a feather, stone or another object
may help to ensure that only one person is speaking at a
time. You may wish to allow this to happen organically and
not structure it too much. However, you may prefer to use
the following questions to get the conversation started.
• What have you learned today?
• What was the most emotional moment for you?
• Was there something you didn’t understand?
• Consider having students explore some of the current
inequities that are a reality for young Indigenous people
today. See case studies on page 54.
The Blanket Exercise is designed to inspire action. For some
ideas, please refer to the selection of suggested resources
on page 55.
14 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012
Additional Activities
A. Have participants make a collage or picture that
describes how they felt about the Blanket Exercise.
Give them the opportunity to share it with others.
B. Equity Exercise: (20 minutes)
We often look for “fairness” or “equality” when we
speak out on issues of human rights and ecological
justice. This can be particularly true when referring
to resources. So what really is equity? Why equity
and not equality, particularly when speaking about
Indigenous rights?
Have participants sit in a circle. Each participant
is asked to remove their right shoe and hand it to
the person on their right. Then ask each participant
to put on the shoe they were given. As they are
trying to make it “fit” ask participants: “what’s the
problem?” Weren’t they all given a shoe to replace
the one they gave away? Wasn’t each person given
the same item, a shoe? Explain how equity, or filling
ones needs, is not necessarily about giving each
person the exact same thing. Equity is about people
getting the “shoe that fits”. Otherwise, the shoe is of
little or no use.
As a group, discuss the following question: Why is
it important to understand equity when working
towards reconciliation and right relations with
Indigenous peoples?
This exercise was adapted from: http://laradavid.
blogspot.com/2008/07/difference-between-
equityand-equality.html
Scrolls for Photocopying:
Grades 4-8 Script


Participant: Hearing Indigenous Voices Scroll 1
“I know what the government did in the past; they said where we had to live.
I know that we’re not treated equally now, because I can feel it. We’re all
Canadians and we should all be treated equally.”—Cassie, from a Mi’kmaq
community in Nova Scotia


Participant: Hearing Indigenous Voices Scroll 2
“You have to remember that the Canadian government has done a lot to
Aboriginal people that was meant to make us become like Europeans. For
example, in residential schools, my grandmother told me you couldn’t speak our
language or you’d get beaten; you couldn’t see your parents – things like that.
We didn’t have voting rights for a long time. We also lost a lot of our culture.”—
Heather, from a Cree community in Saskatchewan

Participant: Hearing Indigenous Voices Scroll 3 

“One of my favourite things about my culture is how we’re taught that everything
on the Earth is to be respected. It’s an important part of the culture and covers
everything. That includes respecting yourself. Respecting yourself is one of the most
important things my culture has taught me. Also, the land, water, plants, air and
animals are all very important to our culture and need to be respected. Without any
of it, what would we be?”—Kateri, from a Mohawk community in Quebec

Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 15

 
European - Scroll A (unrolls and reads in a loud voice):
According to the Doctrine of Discovery nations that are not Christian cannot own
land. The Indigenous peoples living on this land will be put under the protection
and supervision of the Christian nations that “discover” their lands.


European - Scroll B (unrolls and reads in a loud voice):
In the Royal Proclamation of 1763, King George said the Indigenous nations own
their lands, and that the only legal way newcomers could gain control of those
lands was by making treaties between the two nations. 2013 marks the 250th
anniversary of the Royal Proclamation.


European - Scroll C:
Blankets infested with the small pox virus were given or traded to the
Indigenous people by military leaders such as Lord Jeffrey Amherst. You
represent the many Indigenous people who died from small pox after having
come into contact with such blankets. Please step off the blanket.

16 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012

European - Scroll D:


You represent the Beothuk, the original people of what is now called
Newfoundland. Your people are now extinct. When the Europeans arrived you
lost important food sources. Your people died from diseases you had never seen
before. Many of your people died in violent fights with trappers and settlers.
Some of your people were hunted down and killed. Please step off the blankets.


European - Scroll E:
You represent those First Peoples – the Inuit, and the Innu at Davis Inlet, and
many other Indigenous communities – who suffered and sometimes died
because you were forced to move to an unfamiliar place. Please move one of the
blankets away from the others, fold it small and sit down on it.


Participant - Scroll 1: Terra Nullius
The idea of Terra Nullius, which in Latin means “empty land” – gave the
newcomers the right to take over any “empty” land found by explorers.

Participant - Scroll 2: The BNA (British North America) Act

The BNA Act, also known as the Constitution Act, 1867, put “Indians and Lands
reserved for Indians” under the control of the federal government.

Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 17

 
Participant - Scroll 3: Indian Act
In 1876 all the laws dealing with Indigenous peoples were gathered together
and put into the Indian Act.


European - Scroll F, Part I (in a loud voice):
Now hear this! According to the Indian Act of 1876 and the British North America
Act of 1867, you and all of your territories are now under the direct control of the
Canadian federal government. You will now be placed on reserves. Please fold
your blankets until they are just large enough to stand on.

European - Scroll F, Part II:



You may not leave your reserve without a permit. You may not vote. You may not
get together to talk about your rights. You may not practice your spirituality or
your traditional forms of government. If you do any of these things, you may be
put in jail.

18 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012

Participant - Scroll 4: Enfranchisement


Under this federal government policy, all First Nations people who became
doctors, teachers, or who joined other professions, would lose their legal Indian
status. This was called being granted “enfranchisement”.

Participant - Scroll 5: Assimilation


The government thought the “Indian problem” would solve itself as more and
more Indigenous people died from diseases and others became part of the larger
Canadian society. As one government employee said, the government’s goal
was “to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been
absorbed into the body politic and that there is no Indian problem and no Indian
Department.” [Indian Affairs deputy superintendent Duncan Campbell Scott]

Participant - Scroll 6: Residential Schools 

From 1820 until 1970s, the federal government took First Nations, Inuit and Métis
children from their homes and communities and put them in boarding schools
that were run by churches. These schools were often very far from your homes.
In most cases you were not allowed to speak your own language. Most of you
stayed at the school for 8-10 months, while others stayed all year. The last Indian
residential school closed in 1996.

Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 19

 
Participant - Scroll 7: The 1969 White Paper
This proposed federal law again tried to solve the “Indian problem” by getting
you, the Indigenous peoples, to give up your rights and become like other
Canadians.


Participant - Scroll 8: Broken promises
Over the years, more than 70 per cent of the land set aside for you in the
treaties has been lost or stolen by the government. Rarely has the government
tried to replace this land, or tried to give you something in return for its use.


European - Scroll G:
Meanwhile, the treaties are ignored by non-Indigenous people and big
companies are allowed to make lots and lots of money from Indigenous lands
and natural resources, while you the Indigenous peoples get little but the
pollution, and future generations are left to clean up the mess.

20 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012

 
Participant - Scroll 9: U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
The Declaration is a set of international standards on the rights of Indigenous
peoples. It took over 20 years to write and is one of the most debated and
thought-out human rights document in U.N. history. It is unique because for
the first time in U.N. history, those who are affected by the Declaration, you the
Indigenous peoples, were an important part of its development.


Participant – Hearing Indigenous Voices Scroll 4:
“It is about our relationships with each other, our lands, natural resources, our
laws, our rights, our languages, our spirituality, our ways of life.”—Phil Fontaine,
Former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations

Participant – Hearing Indigenous Voices Scroll 5:

“As an individual I am scared for my own education and how my life that’s ahead
of me is going to be like, if I don’t qualify to get into college. Life for us will
gradually get worse, as yours gets easier, that’s not fair for us. We deserve better,
much, much better.” —Vicky, First Nations student

Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 21

The Blanket
Exercise for
Grades 9-12/
Adults
Beginning…
If this is your first session together as a group, ensure you
spend some time getting to know one another. Set some
group norms that will guide how you act towards one
another. Consider showing the Public Service Alliance of
Canada video “Justice for Aboriginal Peoples - It’s time” http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5DrXZUIinU. Let the group
know that you will be exploring the issues raised in the video.
Hearing Indigenous Voices
The Blanket Exercise is an opportunity to learn our shared
history, and to form a common memory. Written following
the release of the Report of the Royal Commission on
Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) in 1996, and with the participation
of many Indigenous people, it is an opportunity to
experience our shared history from a different, perhaps
unfamiliar perspective.
Invite someone in the group to read aloud each of the
following four quotations. You’ll find the scrolls formatted
for photocopying starting on page 43.
Participant - Hearing Indigenous Voices Scroll 1: “Where
common memory is lacking, where people do not share
in the same past, there can be no real community. Where
community is to be formed, common memory must be
created.”—Georges Erasmus, Dene Nation, co-chair of the
Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
Participant - Hearing Indigenous Voices Scroll 2: “At
contact with Europeans, each of the hundreds of Indigenous
22 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012
Peoples of Indigenous America possessed all the elements
of nationhood that were well-established by European
settlers: territory, governing structures, legal systems and a
historical continuity with our territories. Nothing since the
arrival of Columbus has occurred to merit any reduction in
the international legal status of Indigenous Peoples. The
recognition of Indigenous Nations and our rights possess no
threat to non-Indigenous Peoples.”—Sharon Venne, Cree
Participant - Hearings Indigenous Voices Scroll 3: “First
Nations are nations. First Nations (treaty people) signed over
300 treaties with the Europeans during the 1700s and 1800s.
The treaties agreed to share the lands and resources with
the immigrants. … Under existing legislation, treaty people
are “sovereign” nations. … The Indians surrendered over 9.9
million square kilometres of their land to the immigrants.
Today, the sons of the immigrants have the largest treaty
rights in Canada. The Indians have become the poorest
peoples in Canada.”—Chief Pascall Bighetty, Pukatawagan
First Nation
Participant - Hearing Indigenous Voices Scroll 4: “Our
cultures, our religions, our governments and our ways of
life are all in danger. We are not simply individuals with
individual’s rights; on the contrary, we exist as distinct
peoples, distinct communities, real functioning nations.
We hold our lands in common; we hold our cultures and
religions as nations and as communities and groups.”—
Chief Jake Swamp, Wolf Clan of the Mohawk Nation,
Haudenosaunee.
Sum up the conversation by saying
something such as:
The Europeans who “discovered” what we now know as
North America encountered independent, distinct, self-
governing and self-sufficient societies. These societies were
nations; they had a wide variety of languages and cultures,
social traditions, and complex systems of government. Some
were matriarchal.
Continued on page 35
 Pull Out
Map Section
Blanket Exercise Photos
Front & Back Cover: Kerry Marsh

Page 2 clockwise: Cindy Blackstock, Kerry Marsh, Carol Montgomery

Page 3: Liam Sharp

Page 4 left to right: Liam Sharp, Carol Montgomery, Liam Sharp

Page 5 clockwise: Ben Wolfe, Liam Sharp, Renaude Grégoire, Kerry Marsh, Carol Montgomery

Page 6 left to right: Julie Graham, Carol Montgomery

Page 7 clockwise: Kerry Marsh, Carol Montgomery, Kerry Marsh

Page 8: Susanne Ure (left), KAIROS (right)

Page 9: KAIROS

Page 10: Carol Montgomery (left), Kerry Marsh (right)

Page 11 left to right: Liam Sharp, Carol Montgomery, Liam Sharp

Page 12: Susanne Ure (left), KAIROS (right)

Page 13: KAIROS (top), Carol Montgomery (bottom)

Page 14: Helmut Enns (top) / Carol Montgomery (bottom)

Page 22: Murray Angus (left), Helmut Enns (right)

Page 35: Jennifer Henry (left), Rick Balson (right)

Page 36 left to right: Cindy Blackstock, Liam Sharp, Art Babych

Page 37 left to right: Liam Sharp, Jeff Creamer, Liam Sharp

Pages 38 & 39: KAIROS

Page 40 left to right: Liam Sharp, Renaude Grégoire, Liam Sharp

Page 41: Julie Graham (left), Carol Montgomery (right)

Page 42 left to right: Julie Graham, Liam Sharp, Liam Sharp

The very fact that treaties were concluded with these nations
confirms they were sovereign peoples. The Royal Commission
on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) said a new relationship with
Indigenous peoples is desperately needed and should be
based on the reality of Indigenous nationhood. This new
relationship should also be based on respect, sharing and the
mutual recognition of rights and responsibilities. But RCAP
also said this new relationship would be difficult because,
among other things, it would require “decolonizing the
relationship between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people
in Canada, a road that the experience in other societies
demonstrates is not an easy one to follow.”
Learning through Experiencing:
The Blanket Exercise
Tell people they are about to participate in an interactive
exercise designed to deepen their understanding of the
denial of Indigenous peoples’ nationhood in Canada. The
exercise should help us notice how First Nations, Inuit
and later Métis peoples lost access to their land and what
impact this loss had on their communities – both in the past
and today. This exercise will also show us how Indigenous
peoples have always resisted assimilation. Tell the group that
for some people this exercise may generate difficult feelings.
Assure participants that the last step includes a discussion so
people can share their feelings in a respectful way.
Use the three maps from the Report of the Royal Commission
on Aboriginal Peoples that are included in this booklet –
“Turtle Island”, “Treaties” and “Aboriginal Lands Today”
– to explain that the exercise is designed to help people
understand how Indigenous peoples went from using
and occupying all of the land we now call Canada, and
which some Indigenous people refer to as Turtle Island, to
a situation where reserves, or “lands reserved for Indians”,
amount to only one tenth of one per cent of Canada’s land
mass (below the 60th parallel).
Lay the blankets on the floor up against each other so as
to create a blanketed area large enough to accommodate
all the participants. Fold one blanket and set it aside.
Invite everyone to remove their shoes and to stand on the
blankets. Ask them to move around on the blankets. Ask
your volunteer Europeans(s) to stand with you.
The Narrator now begins reading
the script below:
Narrator: These blankets represent the northern part
of Turtle Island, or North America, before the arrival of
Europeans. You represent the Indigenous peoples, the
original inhabitants.
Long before the arrival of Europeans, Turtle Island was home
to millions of people living in thousands of distinct, self-
governing societies that formed hundreds of nations.
These were fishing, hunting, and farming societies, with
their own languages, cultures, and traditions. These nations
had their own laws and ways of governing themselves.
As Nations, you worked with one another. You traded and
shared gifts through networks of trails and water routes that
covered thousands of kilometres. You learned to resolve
clashes and disputes over lands and resources through
treaty-making.
Diverse as you were, as Indigenous peoples you shared
things in common. Your relationship to the land defined
who you were as peoples. All of your needs – food, clothing,
shelter, culture, spiritual fulfillment – were met by the land
and waters, represented here by the blankets. In turn, you
took very seriously your collective responsibility to serve
and protect the land.
Introduce the volunteer (or volunteers) who represent(s)
the European settlers.
Narrator: Then-- events occurred in Europe at the end of
the 15th century that would deeply impact your societies.
In 1493 the King and Queen of Spain asked Pope Alexander
VI to issue the following papal bull or “solemn declaration”
from the Vatican. Known as the Doctrine of Discovery, it
Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 35
established Christian dominion and subjugation over “pagan”
non-Christians. It also granted Spain the right to conquer any
lands its explorers discovered. Non-Christian nations could no
longer own the lands, and the Indigenous people were to be
placed under the guardianship of those Christian nations that
“discovered” their lands; they were to be taught the right way
to believe and live—by force if necessary.
European - Scroll A (in a loud, pompous voice): We … by
the authority of Almighty God … give, grant, and assign
to you and your heirs and successors, kings of Castile and
Leon, forever, all islands and main lands found and to be
found, discovered and to be discovered towards the west
and south, … from the Arctic pole … to the Antarctic pole
… And we make, appoint, and depute you and your said
heirs and successors lords of them with full and free power,
authority, and jurisdiction of every kind.
Narrator: And so began the process of the European
“discovery” and colonization of Turtle Island that started in
the east and moved across the continent.
The European(s) step(s) on the blankets and begin(s) to mill
around.
Narrator: When Europeans first arrived on Turtle Island they
were greatly outnumbered by you, the Indigenous people,
and they depended on you for their survival. They needed
you to help them make sense of the complex political and
social systems that already existed.
Your early relationships with the settlers were based on
cooperation and interdependence. You married each other.
The settlers and their governors recognized you as distinct
peoples with self-governing societies. This led to nation-
to-nation relationships which were formalized in treaties,
including some trade arrangements and military alliances.
Two of the oldest agreements – the Covenant Chain and
the Two Row Wampum – were concluded between the
Europeans and the Haudenosaunee, who live in the east in
what we now call Quebec, Ontario and the state of New York.
The European(s) step(s) on the blankets and begins shaking
hands and milling around. While shaking hands, he/she/they
36 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012
give(s) out white index cards to about half the participants, and
yellow cards to about one-third of the remaining participants.
One of the yellow cards should have an “X” on it. Give blue
cards to two participants. (Note: If the group is large enough,
ensure that at least 10 participants do not receive cards.)
Narrator: These treaties were international agreements
between the European crowns and your nations. They
formally recognized each nation’s sovereignty and
independence. They affirmed that you - the Indigenous
peoples - are the original inhabitants, that your territories
belong to you, and that you are self-governing.
European - Scroll B (in a loud voice): The Royal Proclamation
of 1763 hereby confirms that Indigenous nations have title
to their lands, and that consensual treaty-making with
the Crown is the only way that land can be ceded from
Indigenous peoples. 2013 marks the 250th anniversary of
the Royal Proclamation.
Narrator: Later on, the Canadian federal government
replaced the Crown as the treaty-making body, and the
Royal Proclamation of 1763 was entrenched in Canada’s
Constitution Act, 1982. To Indigenous peoples, treaties
were sacred agreements that were marked with spiritual
ceremonies. They were not statements of submission or
surrender, or real estate deals. Instead, they were statements
of peace, friendship, and alliance that were based on
instructions of traditional Indigenous spirituality around
sharing, respect and honesty. Treaties were a way of sharing
land and resources, and of ensuring peaceful co-existence
among diverse peoples.
Now the European(s) begin(s) to slowly fold the blankets
over, making the blanket space smaller and smaller. The
Narrator should remind the participants they must not step
off the blankets. The objective is to stay on the blankets, even
as they get smaller.
Narrator: But the Europeans had altogether different views
of land, and of treaties. For them, land was a commodity
that could be bought and sold and treaties were a means
of getting you, the Indigenous peoples, to “surrender” or
“extinguish” your title to the land.
Over time, your relationship with the settlers deteriorated.
With the end of the War of 1812, the newcomers in the
East no longer needed you as military allies. In the West,
as the fur trade dried up and colonists turned more and
more to agriculture, they no longer needed you as trading
partners either.
Soon the Europeans began to outnumber you. One reason
for this was diseases the Europeans brought with them
- diseases such as small pox, measles and TB - for which
you had no immunity. Some experts believe fully half
the Indigenous people alive at the time died from these
diseases. Many communities were decimated and lost up to
90 percent of their members.
Narrator: British military leaders Lord Jeffrey Amherst and
William Trent have passages in their journals from the end
of the 18th century that reveal a clear intent to spread small
pox to Indigenous peoples through infected blankets.
One European walks to a person and gives them a folded blanket.
European - Scroll C: “Infect the Indians with sheets upon
which smallpox patients have been lying, or by any other
means which may exterminate this accursed race.” (Lord
Jeffery Amherst)
Narrator: All people with white index cards - please step
off the blanket. You represent the millions of Indigenous
peoples who died of the various diseases to which you had
no immunity. We will take a minute of silence to remember
those who died.
(Continuing) More Europeans also meant an ever increasing
demand for land for settlement. Fuelled by new ideas from
Europe about the inferiority of non-white races and women,
colonists began to view you as obstacles to expansion and
settlement, and as a “problem” to be solved.
The colonial governments adopted policies and practices to
take your land. Some was taken in war. A lot more, since it
was taken without any right or justification, was stolen
by the government. Some was taken by force, which led to
some of you being killed.
Without access to the land you could no longer practice
your traditional lifestyles. Many of you lost your cultures and
languages. Some of you lost all hope, and a reason to live.
The federal government also imposed the Indian Act
system of government on your communities, ignoring your
traditional governments and excluding women.
The Narrator walks to one person in the “east”.
Narrator: You represent the Beothuk, the original
inhabitants of what is now Newfoundland. Your people – the
ones who didn’t starve or die in violent encounters with
settlers trying to take your lands - were hunted and killed,
or taken captive for reward. Your people are now extinct.
Please step off the blankets.
The Narrator walks to the “south” and chooses two people
who are standing close together.
Narrator: You represent the First Nations that were divided
when the border between the United States and British
Canada was created. This border bisected communities,
arbitrarily cutting you off from each other. Please move to
separate blankets.
The European(s) guide(s) each person to a separate blanket,
and then walk(s) with the Narrator to the “west” where they
choose one person.
Narrator: In the prairies, an influx of settlers and the transfer
of a large tract of land from the Hudson’s Bay Company to
the Government of Canada met with significant resistance
from you, the Métis. During some of the clashes that ensued
you were joined by the Cree. In the end you were defeated
by the government’s soldiers. You represent those leaders
of the resistance who died in battle, were put in jail, or were
executed. Please step off the blankets.
The Narrator walks to the “north” and choose one “island”
of people.
Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 37
Narrator: In the High Arctic, Inuit communities were
removed from their traditional territories and relocated to
isolated, barren lands with which they were unfamiliar, often
with devastating results.
European - Scroll D: You represent those First Peoples –
the Inuit, and the Innu at Davis Inlet, and countless other
Indigenous communities – who suffered and sometimes died
through forced relocation. Please move one of the blankets
away from the others, fold it small and sit down on it.
The European(s) direct(s) the group to a smaller, folded blanket.
Narrator: Those with blue cards, please step off the
blankets. You represent those who died of malnutrition after
being forced off your traditional territories and away from
your hunting grounds.
The European(s) and the Narrator present participants –
either on or off the blankets – with the three types of
numbered scrolls – Participant, Background and Context.
Please note that in some cases there may not be a
Background or Context scroll. As the Narrator calls out the
numbers, each participant unrolls the scroll and reads it
aloud. With smaller groups, each participant can read more
than one scroll. Depending on the number of participants,
the Narrator can read the background scrolls or ask other
participants to read them.
Participant - Scroll 1: Terra Nullius - The notion of Terra
Nullius, which in Latin means “empty land” – gave a colonial
nation the right to absorb any territory encountered by
explorers. These were the hunting and trapping lands of
Indigenous peoples.
Participant or Narrator - Background Scroll 1: If the land
was deemed “empty” by the settler government it was
considered subject to the Doctrine of Discovery and could be
claimed by the European explorers. Over time, this concept
was conveniently expanded to include lands not occupied
by “civilized” peoples, or lands not being put to “civilized” use.
Participant - Contemporary Context Scroll 1: The Doctrine
of Discovery embodies a colonial mentality and is the legal
38 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012
basis for Canada’s existence. In a contemporary context, it
continues to oppress Indigenous peoples through laws that
do not recognize our right to govern ourselves, which has a
negative impact on our identities, languages and cultures. It
also forces us - not the settlers- to prove title to the land.
Participant - Scroll 2: The British North America (BNA) Act -
The BNA Act, also known as the Constitution Act of 1867, put
“Indians and Lands reserved for Indians” under the control of
the federal government.
Participant or Narrator - Background Scroll 2: The BNA
Act was drafted in part to provide policy “teeth” for Sir John
A. MacDonald’s announcement that Canada’s goal was “to
do away with the tribal system and assimilate the Indian
people in all respects with the inhabitants of the Dominion.”
The act specified how Indigenous people were put “under
the protection” of the Crown. It provided the legal base for
the treaties, and it emphasized the government’s central
priorities of “assimilation, enfranchisement, and civilization.”
Participant - Contemporary Context Scroll 2: Assimilation
is still a priority. Current federal government registration
policies for receiving recognition as a status Indian will
eventually lead to the elimination of status Indians.
Participant - Scroll 3: The Indian Act - All laws respecting
“Indians” were first consolidated into the Indian Act in 1876.
It is still in force today and was last updated in 2011.
European - Scroll E, Part I (reads the first part of this scroll
in a loud voice): Now hear this! According to the Indian Act
of 1876 and the British North America Act of 1867, you and
all of your territories are now under the direct control of
the Canadian federal government. You will be placed on
reserves. Please fold your blankets until they are just large
enough to stand on.
Participant or Narrator - Background Scroll 3: Through the
Indian Act, the Department of Indian Affairs took complete
control over your economic, social and political affairs.
Your cultures were the last barrier to colonization so their
foundations were attacked by this act. Hunting and fishing
were restricted, and the potlatch, sundance and pow-wow,
all vital aspects of life for many First Nations, were outlawed.
The federal government took control of deciding who
was and was not an “Indian”, and Indigenous women who
married non-Indigenous men lost their Indian status. You
went from being independent First Nations, with your own
governance structures, into impoverished “bands”, and as
individuals, you became “wards of the state.” The Inuit were
included under the Indian Act in 1939. The Métis are not
covered by the Indian Act.
European - Scroll E Part II (reads the second part of this scroll
in a loud voice): You may not leave your reserve without a
permit. You may not vote. You may not gather to discuss
your rights. You may not practice your traditional spirituality
or your traditional forms of government. To do any of these
things is to face prosecution and imprisonment.
Narrator: The Indian Act also severely restricted Indigenous
land rights. For example, under the Indian Act, it was illegal to
raise money to fight for land rights in the courts until 1951.
Participant - Contemporary Context Scroll 3: The Indian
Act continues to give the federal government the power to
preside over many aspects of our lives. For example, under
the Indian Act the federal government can abolish the
customary government of a First Nation and impose band
council elections.
Participant - Scroll 4: Enfranchisement - Under this federal
policy, all First Nation people who became doctors, lawyers
or who entered other professions would be granted
“enfranchisement”, and be forced to give up our legal Indian
status. In other words, the government would “reclassify”
Indigenous people who were entering professions, as
Canadians, making us ineligible for treaty benefits. Since this
included lawyers, it effectively prevented land rights cases
from reaching the courts during the first half of the 1900s.
Participant - Scroll 5: Assimilation – Over a hundred
years ago it was widely assumed that the so-called “Indian
problem” would soon solve itself as Indigenous people
died from diseases and the survivors were absorbed into
the larger society. As Indian Affairs deputy superintendent
Duncan Campbell Scott stated, the government’s goal was
“to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that
has not been absorbed into the body politic and that there
is no Indian problem and no Indian Department.”
Participant - Contemporary Context Scroll 5: One way the
Canadian government pressures us to leave our lands is by
failing to provide us with basic services:
• Over half the drinking water systems on reserve pose a
significant risk to human health. (OAG 2011)
• There are 85,000 new housing units needed on reserve
and 60% of existing houses are in need of repair. (AFN 2012)
• There is inadequate access to health care contributing
to situations such as rates of TB amongst the Inuit being
284 times higher than for Canadian-born non-Indigenous
people. (NAHO 2012)
Participant - Scroll 6: Residential Schools - From 1820
to the 1970s, the federal government removed us, the
First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, from our homes
and communities and placed us in church-run boarding
schools, often far from our families. In most cases we were
not allowed to speak our own languages. Most of us stayed
at the school for 8-10 months, while others stayed all year.
While some of us report having positive experiences at
the schools, many of us suffered from the impoverished
conditions and from emotional, physical and sexual
abuse. Many more of us lost family connections and the
opportunity to learn our culture and traditions from our
elders. Raised in an institution, most of us lost our parenting
skills. Some students died at residential school. Many of us
never returned to our home communities, or were shunned
if we did. The last federally-run residential school closed in
1996.
Narrator: All people with yellow cards must now move
in groups to separate, empty blankets (the European can
decide who goes where). You represent those who were
Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 39
taken out of your communities and placed in residential
schools far from home.
The person with the yellow index card that is marked with
an “X” must step off the blanket. You represent those who
died as a result of their experience at residential schools.
All others with yellow cards, you may return to your home
communities, though you may always struggle to feel at
home with your own people.
The Narrator asks those without index cards to turn their
back on the returning “children” with yellow index cards, to
symbolize the rejection and exclusion that they feel.
Participant - Contemporary Context Scroll 6: One
goal of residential schools was to eradicate Indigenous
languages. Federally funded schools on reserve currently
get on average $2,000-$3,000 less per student, per year,
than schools off reserve (Caledon Institute 2008) making
it extremely difficult to address the issue of language loss
caused by residential schools.
Participant - Scroll 7: The 1969 “White Paper” The
“White Paper” was the Trudeau government’s attempt to
solve the “Indian problem” by abolishing the Indian Act
and assimilating Indigenous peoples into Euro-Canadian
society. This outraged Indigenous peoples. We saw it as
a termination of our rights and organized to defeat it.
Out of this came the National Indian Brotherhood – now
the Assembly of First Nations (or AFN) – as well as other
Indigenous rights organizations.
The Narrator asks participants to unfold one small corner
of their blankets to commemorate these successful acts of
resistance against the federal government’s “termination”
legislation. The European can intervene if people are
unfolding too much of the blankets.
Participant - Scroll 8: Broken promises - Over the years,
more than two-thirds of the land set aside for treaties has
been lost or stolen. It has been taken through fraud,
40 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012
mismanagement, intimidation, expropriation for military
purposes, or for development. Rarely has the government
attempted to replace this land, or to compensate us for
its use.
Participant - Contemporary Context Scroll 8: By targeting
women, you target the heart of the nation. In many
Indigenous traditions, women are the carriers of culture
and tradition. Indigenous women have been specifically
targeted through federal legislation and policies that
attempt to erode our communities and in so doing, facilitate
the appropriation of our lands.
• Indigenous women are at least three times as likely to
experience violence as non-Indigenous women in Canada.
(Statistics Canada 2009)
• Almost 6oo Indigenous women have gone missing or
been murdered since the 1970s, and these are only the
cases that have been documented. The real number is
undoubtedly much higher.
Participant - Scroll 9: Meanwhile, large companies set up
shop in our territories, generate huge profits from natural
resources and often pollute and deplete the land, without
regard to Indigenous or treaty rights, and without benefits
flowing to Indigenous peoples.
Participant - Contemporary Context Scroll 9: A major cause
of poverty in our communities is that virtually none of the
profits from resource extraction on our lands flow to our
communities. There are approximately eight times more
on-reserve children in care than children living off reserve
(OAG 2008). Often First Nations children enter care due to
poverty; we as their parents are unable to provide them with
the necessities of life. (Standing Committee on the Status of
Women 2011)
Participant - Scroll 10: Extinguishing Rights - Canada’s
extinguishment policy forces us to surrender our title
and rights to the vast majority of our lands in return for a
settlement that limits our rights and gives us access to
only a tiny fraction of our traditional territories. Canada
has been criticized by national and international human
rights experts for this policy. The current policy, which
is called the “non-assertion, modified rights” policy,
requires us to agree to never assert our rights. Numerous
international and domestic human rights bodies, including
the United Nations, have told Canada that requiring us
to never assert our rights is the same as extinguishing
those rights.
Narrator: Indigenous peoples continue to view treaties as
sacred agreements between sovereign nations that must
be honoured to ensure the equitable sharing of resources
and a peaceful, just coexistence. But that view of treaties is
generally not accepted by non-Indigenous society, which
often views treaties as a form of surrender.
Participant - Contemporary Context Scroll 10: Treaties
affirm our jurisdiction over our territories and are part of
our right to self-determination. Failing to uphold Indigenous
peoples’ right to self-determination contributes to feelings
of hopelessness especially amongst our youth. Suicide
rates amongst Indigenous youth are on average six times
higher than they are amongst other youth in Canada, and
11 times higher for Inuit youth. (Health Canada)
Narrator: Recently, there have been some positive
developments in the relationship between Indigenous and
non-Indigenous people in Canada. On June 11, 2008, Prime
Minister Stephen Harper, on behalf of the Government of
Canada, issued an official apology for the Indian Residential
Schools system.
European - Scroll F: An excerpt from the Prime Minister’s
Apology to Survivors of Indian Residential Schools: “Two
primary objectives of the Residential Schools system were
to remove and isolate children from the influence of their
homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate
them into the dominant culture. These objectives were
based on the assumption Aboriginal cultures and spiritual
beliefs were inferior and unequal. Indeed, some sought, as it
was infamously said, “to kill the Indian in the child”. Today,
we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has
caused great harm, and has no place in our country.”
Narrator: This apology was followed by the convening of
the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The TRC’s
five year mandate includes hearing the stories of residential
school survivors and others, and documenting the truth of
the residential school system.
Pause…
Narrator: In November, 2010, Canada endorsed the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Under development for more than 20 years, the Declaration
is one of the most intensely debated human rights
instruments in U.N. history. Indigenous peoples themselves
have been an integral part of its development.
Participant - Scroll 11: United Nations Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - The Declaration was a
response to the lack of a comprehensive set of international
standards on the rights of Indigenous peoples at the
United Nations. Although Canada had previously played an
important role in developing the Declaration, it was one of
only 4 countries to vote against it at the United Nations in
2007. In 2008, over 100 constitutional and Indigenous rights
experts signed an open letter that characterized Canada’s
reasons for opposing the Declaration as misleading,
erroneous, and extraordinary.
Participant or Narrator - Background Scroll 11: Following
years of action by Indigenous people, organizations and
their partners – including church groups – the Government
of Canada finally endorsed the Declaration on November
12, 2010. But it did so with qualifications, and described the
Declaration as an “aspirational” document that is subject
to existing Canadian law, including, of course, the Indian
Act. Nevertheless, Canada’s endorsement of the Declaration
has been heralded as a significant new moment in the
relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples
in Canada by many Indigenous groups and their allies.
Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 41
 The Narrator asks all the remaining participants to unfold
another corner of their blankets ONCE (again, if too much
blanket is being unfolded, the European(s) can intervene),
and asks one person to read the following quote:
Participant - Hearing Indigenous Voices Scroll 5- “The
Declaration is fundamentally about building meaningful
relationships with Indigenous peoples across the globe, and
with nation-states and with Indigenous rights supporters.
It is about our relationships with each other, our lands,
natural resources, our laws, our rights, our languages, our
spirituality, our ways of life.”—Phil Fontaine, Former National
Chief of the Assembly of First Nations
Narrator: In order for these good words and positive
developments to be meaningful first steps towards genuine
reconciliation and justice - and not simply more broken
promises - they must be followed by tangible action from
the Government of Canada and Canadians.
At this point, there should be only a few people remaining
on blankets that have been folded over many times.
Participant - Scroll 12: The Government of Canada and the
United Nations have repeatedly identified the conditions
of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples as Canada’s most
pressing human rights problem. According to the U.N.,
Canada is consistently ranked one of the ten best places in
the world to live. However, by the same measure, the living
conditions of Indigenous peoples compares to those of
nations ranked in the high 60s.
Narrator: And yet despite the Government of Canada’s
concerted efforts to assimilate Indigenous peoples, you
continue to resist and to pass down your languages,
ceremonies, land-based practices and governance
structures. But the violence of colonization has left a
tremendous burden of pain and, as the Prime Minister
stated in the residential schools apology, “the burden is
properly ours as a Government, and as a country.”
42 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012
Reflecting
Invite those people who have stepped off the blankets to
join those still on the blankets in a period of silent reflection.
Ask them to look around the room and to compare what they
see now to what they saw at the beginning of the exercise.
Then invite people to take their seats, leaving the blankets
in place. Ask people to share their insights and emotions.
What did they experience? What did they feel? What did
they learn? Be aware that participating in such an exercise
can have a strong impact on participants, especially
First Nations, Inuit or Métis people. It is important to
allow time for participants to share their feelings. If time
permits, consider using a talking circle instead of a general
discussion. In a talking circle, participants do not debate
or challenge each other’s words. Instead, they practice
listening. If possible, invite an Indigenous elder or spiritual
leader to facilitate the circle.
Here is a suggested question for discussion:
• How have non-Indigenous people benefited from the
historical and current denial of Indigenous nationhood
in Canada? In other words, how is the standard of
living that most non-Indigenous people in Canada enjoy
connected to the ongoing discrimination and inequity
experienced by Indigenous peoples?
It may be helpful to incorporate the two case studies found
on page 54 into the discussion.
The facilitator can note that we ended the Blanket Exercise
by saying that good words of reconciliation and justice
require concrete action if they are to be meaningful. In the
Suggested Follow-Up to the Blanket Exercise on page 55 you
will find a list of resources that can be used in guiding the
discussion towards what participants can do to further what
they have learned.
Scrolls for Photocopying:
Grades 9-12 & Adult Version


Participant - Hearing Indigenous Voices Scroll 1:
“Where common memory is lacking, where people do not share in the same past,
there can be no real community. Where community is to be formed, common
memory must be created.”—Georges Erasmus, Dene Nation, co-chair of the Royal
Commission on Aboriginal Peoples

Participant - Hearing Indigenous Voices Scroll 2:


“At contact with Europeans, each of the hundreds of Indigenous Peoples of
Indigenous America possessed all the elements of nationhood that were well-
established by European settlers: territory, governing structures, legal systems and
a historical continuity with our territories. Nothing since the arrival of Columbus
has occurred to merit any reduction in the international legal status of Indigenous
Peoples. The recognition of Indigenous Nations and our rights possess no threat
to non-Indigenous Peoples.”—Sharon Venne, Cree

Participant - Hearings Indigenous Voices Scroll 3:


“First Nations are nations. First Nations (treaty people) signed over 300 treaties with
the Europeans during the 1700s and 1800s. The treaties agreed to share the lands
and resources with the immigrants. … Under existing legislation, treaty people are
“sovereign” nations. … The Indians surrendered over 9.9 million square kilometres
of their land to the immigrants. Today, the sons of the immigrants have the largest
treaty rights in Canada. The Indians have become the poorest peoples in Canada.”
—Chief Pascall Bighetty, Pukatawagan First Nation

Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 43

 Participant - Hearings Indigenous Voices Scroll 4:


“Our cultures, our religions, our governments and our ways of life are all in danger.
We are not simply individuals with individual’s rights; on the contrary, we exist as
distinct peoples, distinct communities, real functioning nations. We hold our lands
in common; we hold our cultures and religions as nations and as communities and
groups.”—Chief Jake Swamp, Wolf Clan of the Mohawk Nation, Haudenosaunee.

European - Scroll A (in a loud, pompous voice):


We … by the authority of Almighty God … give, grant, and assign to you and your
heirs and successors, kings of Castile and Leon, forever, all islands and main lands
found and to be found, discovered and to be discovered towards the west and
south, … from the Arctic pole … to the Antarctic pole … And we make, appoint,
and depute you and your said heirs and successors lords of them with full and free
power, authority, and jurisdiction of every kind.

European - Scroll B (in a loud voice):


The Royal Proclamation of 1763 hereby confirms that Indigenous nations have title
to their lands, and that consensual treaty-making with the Crown is the only way
that land can be ceded from Indigenous peoples. 2013 marks the 250th anniversary
of the Royal Proclamation.

European - Scroll C:


“Infect the Indians with sheets upon which smallpox patients have been lying, or by
any other means which may exterminate this accursed race.” (Lord Jeffery Amherst)

44 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012

European - Scroll D:


You represent those First Peoples – the Inuit, and the Innu at Davis Inlet, and
countless other Indigenous communities – who suffered and sometimes died
through forced relocation. Please move one of the blankets away from the others,
fold it small and sit down on it.

Participant - Scroll 1: Terra Nullius


The notion of Terra Nullius, which in Latin means “empty land” – gave a colonial
nation the right to absorb any territory encountered by explorers. These were the
hunting and trapping lands of Indigenous peoples.


Participant or Narrator - Background Scroll 1:
If the land was deemed “empty” by the settler government it was considered
subject to the Doctrine of Discovery and could be claimed by the European
explorers. Over time, this concept was conveniently expanded to include lands not
occupied by “civilized” peoples, or lands not being put to “civilized” use.

Participant - Contemporary Context Scroll 1:



The Doctrine of Discovery embodies a colonial mentality and is the legal basis for
Canada’s existence. In a contemporary context, it continues to oppress Indigenous
peoples through laws that do not recognize our right to govern ourselves, which
has a negative impact on our identities, languages and cultures. It also forces us -
not the settlers- to prove title to the land.

Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 45

 Participant - Scroll 2: The British North America (BNA) Act


The BNA Act, also known as the Constitution Act of 1867, put “Indians and Lands
reserved for Indians” under the control of the federal government.

Participant or Narrator - Background Scroll 2:


The BNA Act was drafted in part to provide policy “teeth” for Sir John A.
MacDonald’s announcement that Canada’s goal was “to do away with the tribal
system and assimilate the Indian people in all respects with the inhabitants
of the Dominion.” The act specified how Indigenous people were put “under
the protection” of the Crown. It provided the legal base for the treaties, and it
emphasized the government’s central priorities of “assimilation, enfranchisement,
and civilization.”

Participant - Contemporary Context Scroll 2:


Assimilation is still a priority. Current federal government registration policies for
receiving recognition as a status Indian will eventually lead to the elimination of
status Indians.

Participant - Scroll 3: The Indian Act



All laws respecting “Indians” were first consolidated into the Indian Act in 1876.
It is still in force today and was last updated in 2011.

46 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012

 
European - Scroll E, Part I (reads the first part of this scroll in a loud voice):
Now hear this! According to the Indian Act of 1876 and the British North America
Act of 1867, you and all of your territories are now under the direct control of the
Canadian federal government. You will be placed on reserves. Please fold your
blankets until they are just large enough to stand on.

Participant or Narrator - Background Scroll 3:


Through the Indian Act, the Department of Indian Affairs took complete control
over your economic, social and political affairs. Your cultures were the last barrier
to colonization so their foundations were attacked by this act. Hunting and fishing
were restricted, and the potlatch, sundance and pow-wow, all vital aspects of life
for many First Nations, were outlawed. The federal government took control of
deciding who was and was not an “Indian”, and Indigenous women who married
non-Indigenous men lost their Indian status. You went from being independent
First Nations, with your own governance structures, into impoverished “bands”,
and as individuals, you became “wards of the state.” The Inuit were included under
the Indian Act in 1939. The Métis are not covered by the Indian Act.

European - Scroll E Part II (reads the second part of this scroll in a loud voice):


You may not leave your reserve without a permit. You may not vote. You may not
gather to discuss your rights. You may not practice your traditional spirituality
or your traditional forms of government. To do any of these things is to face
prosecution and imprisonment.

Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 47

 Participant - Contemporary Context Scroll 3:


The Indian Act continues to give the federal government the power to preside
over many aspects of our lives. For example, under the Indian Act the federal
government can abolish the customary government of a First Nation and
impose band council elections.


Participant - Scroll 4: Enfranchisement
Under this federal policy, all First Nation people who became doctors, lawyers
or who entered other professions would be granted “enfranchisement”, and be
forced to give up our legal Indian status. In other words, the government would
“reclassify” Indigenous people who were entering professions, as Canadians,
making us ineligible for treaty benefits. Since this included lawyers, it effectively
prevented land rights cases from reaching the courts during the first half of the
1900s.

Participant - Scroll 5: Assimilation


Over a hundred years ago it was widely assumed that the so-called “Indian
problem” would soon solve itself as Indigenous people died from diseases and
the survivors were absorbed into the larger society. As Indian Affairs deputy
superintendent Duncan Campbell Scott stated, the government’s goal was “to
continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed
into the body politic and that there is no Indian problem and no Indian
Department.”

48 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012

Participant - Contemporary Context Scroll 5:


One way the Canadian government pressures us to leave our lands is by failing to
provide us with basic services:
• Over half the drinking water systems on reserve pose a significant risk to human
health. (OAG 2011)
• There are 85,000 new housing units needed on reserve and 60% of existing
houses are in need of repair. (AFN 2012)
• There is inadequate access to health care contributing to situations such as
rates of TB amongst the Inuit being 284 times higher than for Canadian-born
non-Indigenous people. (NAHO 2012)

Participant - Scroll 6: Residential Schools

From 1820 to the 1970s, the federal government removed us, the First Nations, Inuit


and Métis children, from our homes and communities and placed us in church-run
boarding schools, often far from our families. In most cases we were not allowed
to speak our own languages. Most of us stayed at the school for 8-10 months,
while others stayed all year. While some of us report having positive experiences
at the schools, many of us suffered from the impoverished conditions and from
emotional, physical and sexual abuse. Many more of us lost family connections and
the opportunity to learn our culture and traditions from our elders. Raised in an
institution, most of us lost our parenting skills. Some students died at residential
school. Many of us never returned to our home communities, or were shunned if
we did. The last federally-run residential school closed in 1996.

Participant - Contemporary Context Scroll 6:

One goal of residential schools was to eradicate Indigenous languages. Federally


funded schools on reserve currently get on average $2,000-$3,000 less per student, per
year, than schools off reserve (Caledon Institute 2008) making it extremely difficult to
address the issue of language loss caused by residential schools.

Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 49

 
Participant - Scroll 7: The 1969 “White Paper”
The “White Paper” was the Trudeau government’s attempt to solve the “Indian
problem” by abolishing the Indian Act and assimilating Indigenous peoples
into Euro-Canadian society. This outraged Indigenous peoples. We saw it as a
termination of our rights and organized to defeat it. Out of this came the National
Indian Brotherhood – now the Assembly of First Nations (or AFN) – as well as other
Indigenous rights organizations.


Participant - Scroll 8: Broken promises
Over the years, more than two-thirds of the land set aside for treaties has been
lost or stolen. It has been taken through fraud, mismanagement, intimidation,
expropriation for military purposes, or for development. Rarely has the government
attempted to replace this land, or to compensate Indigenous peoples for its use.


Participant - Contemporary Context Scroll 8:
By targeting women, you target the heart of the nation. In many Indigenous
traditions, women are the carriers of culture and tradition. Indigenous women
have been specifically targeted through federal legislation and policies that
attempt to erode our communities and in so doing, facilitate the appropriation of
our lands.
• Indigenous women are at least three times as likely to experience violence as
non-Indigenous women in Canada. (Statistics Canada 2009)
• Almost 6oo Indigenous women have gone missing or been murdered since
the 1970s, and these are only the cases that have been documented. The real
number is undoubtedly much higher.

50 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012

 
Participant - Scroll 9:
Meanwhile, large companies set up shop in our territories, generate huge profits
from natural resources and often pollute and deplete the land, without regard to
Indigenous or treaty rights, and without benefits flowing to Indigenous peoples.


Participant - Contemporary Context Scroll 9:
A major cause of poverty in our communities is that virtually none of the profits
from resource extraction on our lands flow to our communities. There are
approximately eight times more on-reserve children in care than children living
off reserve (OAG 2008). Often First Nations children enter care due to poverty; we
as their parents are unable to provide them with the necessities of life. (Standing
Committee on the Status of Women 2011)

Participant - Scroll 10: Extinguishing Rights


Canada’s extinguishment policy forces us to surrender our title and rights to the
vast majority of our lands in return for a settlement that limits our rights and gives
us access to only a tiny fraction of our traditional territories. Canada has been
criticized by national and international human rights experts for this policy. The
current policy, which is called the “non-assertion, modified rights” policy, requires
us to agree to never assert our rights. Numerous international and domestic
human rights bodies, including the United Nations, have told Canada that
requiring us to never assert our rights is the same as extinguishing those rights.

Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 51

 Participant - Contemporary Context Scroll 10:


Treaties affirm our jurisdiction over our territories and are part of our right to self-
determination. Failing to uphold Indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination
contributes to feelings of hopelessness especially amongst our youth. Suicide rates
amongst our youth are on average six times higher than they are amongst other
youth in Canada, and 11 times higher for Inuit youth. (Health Canada)

European - Scroll F:


An excerpt from the Prime Minister’s Apology to Survivors of Indian Residential
Schools: “Two primary objectives of the Residential Schools system were to remove
and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures,
and to assimilate them into the dominant culture. These objectives were based on the
assumption Aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal. Indeed,
some sought, as it was infamously said, “to kill the Indian in the child”. Today,
we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm,
and has no place in our country.”

Participant - Scroll 11: United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous

Peoples 
The Declaration was a response to the lack of a comprehensive set of international
standards on the rights of Indigenous peoples at the United Nations. Although
Canada had previously played an important role in developing the Declaration,
it was one of only 4 countries to vote against it at the United Nations in 2007. In
2008, over 100 constitutional and Indigenous rights experts signed an open letter
that characterized Canada’s reasons for opposing the Declaration as misleading,
erroneous, and extraordinary.

52 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012

 
Participant or Narrator - Background Scroll 11:
Following years of action by Indigenous people, organizations and their partners
– including church groups – the Government of Canada finally endorsed the
Declaration on November 12, 2010. But it did so with qualifications, and described
the Declaration as an “aspirational” document that is subject to existing Canadian
law, including of course the Indian Act. Nevertheless, Canada’s endorsement of the
Declaration has been heralded as a significant new moment in the relationship
between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada by many Indigenous
groups and their allies.

Participant - Hearing Indigenous Voices Scroll 5:


“The Declaration is fundamentally about building meaningful relationships with
Indigenous peoples across the globe, and with nation-states and with Indigenous
rights supporters. It is about our relationships with each other, our lands, natural
resources, our laws, our rights, our languages, our spirituality, our ways of life.”
—Phil Fontaine, Former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations

Participant - Scroll 12:



The Government of Canada and the United Nations have repeatedly identified the
conditions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples as Canada’s most pressing human
rights problem. According to the U.N., Canada is consistently ranked one of the ten
best places in the world to live. However, by the same measure, the living conditions
of Indigenous peoples compares to those of nations ranked in the high 60s.

Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012 53

Case Studies
Jordan’s Principle:
Jordan’s Principle: Jordan River Anderson of the Norway
House Cree Nation died in hospital at age 5 despite
having been able to move to home care at age two.
The reason he was never able to go home was that the
different levels of government could not agree on who
should pay for Jordan’s home care.
Jordan’s Principle sets out that no child should be
caught in the middle of a dispute over funding. Rather,
the government of first contact is responsible for initial
payments that are in the best interest of the child.
Disputes over reimbursement can be worked out
separately between governments so they don’t prevent
Shannen’s Dream:
The school in Attawapiskat First Nation in northern
Ontario is condemned because the land it’s built on
is contaminated by 50,000 liters of diesel fuel. For ten
years the students have used run-down portables that
are freezing in winter, are fire traps, and are infested
with mice. According to a 2007 internal INAC document,
“existing portables are in need of extensive repair” and
there is “student overcrowding in classrooms.”
Since 2001, three federal Ministers of Indian Affairs have
promised the students of Attawapiskat a new school.
Those students are still waiting. By 2008, the grade eight
students had had enough of the broken promises and
the deplorable condition of their classrooms. Led by 13
year old student Shannen Koostachin, they travelled
to Ottawa to ask for a new school, but then Minister of
Indian Affairs Chuck Strahl said it was not possible. There
is no timeline in place to provide the community with a
new school.
Shannen’s goal of becoming a lawyer meant she had
to leave home to attend high school in a community
54 Blanket Exercise | © KAIROS, 2012
a child from accessing health care services. Although
this principle was adopted by the House of Commons
as a private member’s bill in 2007, it has never been
implemented.
The following U.N. Declaration article is a good example
of where we find entrenchment of Jordan’s Principle.
Article 24(2) “Indigenous individuals have an equal right
to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard
of physical and mental health. States shall take the
necessary steps with a view to achieving progressively
the full realization of this right”.
For more information on Jordan’s Principle:
http://www.fncfcs.com/jordans-principle
hundreds of miles away. Tragically, while away at school,
she died in a car accident. She was 15. Before her death
she was nominated for the International Children’s Peace
Prize. She also spearheaded a campaign that continues
to gain momentum and has been re-named “Shannen’s
Dream” in her honour.
On February 27, 2012, the Parliament of Canada voted
unanimously in the House of Commons for a private
member’s motion that “All First Nation Children Have
an Equal Right to High-Quality, Culturally-Relevant
Education”. It was a huge success for all those seeking
equity for Indigenous peoples in Canada.
It was also the result of thousands of Indigenous and
non-Indigenous children and youth who support
“Shannen’s Dream”, which calls for “safe and comfy
schools and culturally-based and equitable education” for
First Nations students.
To learn more about Shannen’s Dream and what you
can do as a group or as individuals, please visit
http://www.fncfcs.com/shannensdream/.
Suggested
Follow-up to the
Blanket Exercise
Truth Reconciliation & Equity: What Can I Do: KAIROS
has been invited to support the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission in its public witness initiative. Inspired by this
collaboration, and under the banner Truth, Reconciliation
and Equity: They Matter to Us!, KAIROS proposes you can
get involved: 1) make use of our workshop and resource
materials; 2) be a public witness by submitting a photo
of yourself and others holding a sign that says “Truth,
Reconciliation and Equity: They Matter to Us!”; 3) meet
with your MP to press for the full implementation of the
U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; 4) host
a display of banners from “Roll with the Declaration” and
consider making a banner to hang somewhere in your
community; 5) perform our campaign skit. All of this and
more can be found on our campaign webpage: http://www.
kairoscanada.org/take-action/truth-equity-reconciliation/.
The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of
Canada is working to give First Nations children the same
chance as other Canadians to grow up safely at home, get a
good education, be healthy, and be proud of their cultures.
The Caring Society’s three main campaigns focus on areas
where First Nations children experience discrimination:
education, health, and child welfare. The Shannen’s Dream
campaign is for safe and comfy schools and culturally based
education for First Nations children: www.shannensdream.ca.
The Jordan’s Principle campaign is working to ensure that
First Nations children are not denied health services because
the provincial and federal governments cannot agree on who
should pay for those services: www.jordansprinciple.ca.
The ‘i am a witness’ campaign calls on Canadians to follow
an historic human rights case that has been brought
against the federal government based on evidence that
it is underfunding child welfare services on reserve:
www.fnwitness.ca.
Each of these campaign pages lists a number of actions for
people of all ages - actions which only take a few minutes,
and are free.
‘The 100 Years of Loss’ edu-kit has been developed by
The Legacy of Hope Foundation. It is designed to support
educators and administrators in raising awareness and
teaching about the history and legacy of residential schools.
It is for Canadian youth aged 11 to 18 and includes six multi-
layered lesson plans, a wall-mounted timeline, and survivor
videos, as well as teacher resources and extension activities.
You can order your free edu-kit by going to the Foundation’s
website: http://www.legacyofhope.ca/projects/100-years-of-
loss-edu-kit
‘What Can I Do to Help the Families of Missing and
Murdered Aboriginal Women and Girls?’ is a community
resource guide by the Native Women’s Association of
Canada. In it you will find toolkits, fact sheets, suggested
resources as well as information on how to respectfully
and safely introduce this issue into the classroom. It can be
downloaded for free from the NWAC website: http://www.
nwac.ca/programs/community-resource-guide-what-can-i-
do-help-families-missing-and-murdered-aboriginal-women-
The Métis Education Kit/Trousses d’education metises
is an exciting resource for students, teachers, educators,
and community members to use inside and out of the
classroom. Created by the Métis Nation of Ontario, it can
be used to teach Métis history, culture and heritage. Each
kit contains a variety of items including a sash, flashcards,
fiddle music and a timeline of Métis history in Ontario.
Kits can be ordered online: http://www.metisnation.org/
programs/education--training/metis-education-kittrousses-
d%E2%80%99education-metisse.
Project of Heart is an award-winning initiative created by
educator Sylvia Smith that commemorates Indian residential
schools. Small wooden tiles are decorated, each in memory
of a child who lost their life at a residential school. The
Project includes testimony from a survivor and focuses on
the learning that takes place at the level of the spirit and
heart and not just the mind.
Diverse groups of people are invited to be a part of this
initiative including schools, youth groups, worship groups
and activist groups. All the information to receive a kit can
be found at: http://www.projectofheart.ca/
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KAIROS:
Canadian Ecumenical
Justice Initiatives
310 Dupont Street, Suite 200
Toronto ON M5R 1V9
416-463-5312 | 1-877-403-8933
www.kairoscanada.org
The members of KAIROS are: the Anglican Church of Canada, Canadian
Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, Canadian Conference
of Catholic Bishops, Canadian Religious Conference, Christian Reformed
Church in North America (Canada Corporation), Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Canada, Mennonite Central Committee Canada, the Presbyterian
Church in Canada, the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund,
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and the United Church of Canada.