by Dante Bear
I was
sitting along the cold, white benches under the arbor watching my class inform
the U of R students about the Kairos Blanket Exercise. It begins with the
students standing on many different Land (blankets) and the Europeans come to
find the many different tribes as being different and begin to reform the
uneducated First Nations. I chose not to participate because it’s hard to think
about the injustice that was caused by the wasichus (white man), because we
were different.
Reconciliation.
Not everyone knows what it means. To “reconcile” is a way of coming together,
which some people might think is an apology, depending on the way you use it.
The Blanket
Exercise – taught to us by Mrs. Koops – is a great insight to a mental picture
of the injustice First Nations had to suffer and overcome. I myself believe
there isn’t a way to pay for the damages (reconcile) for what happened in the
past, but we as proud people accept that as fact. I know my words sound
ungrateful, but I think I speak for every First Nations person, you can’t cause
mass genocide and just throw money at the people and say sorry. It doesn’t work
like that.
So yeah, the
Blanket Exercise paints a vivid picture of the past, makes the people think, “What
if that was me? What if I was raped, abused, taken away from my family? I don’t
think money would fix that.” This us how I picture people doing the Blanket Exercise,
as if they were blind, but after they picture what is being taught in front of
them, their eyes open for the first time.
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