KIROS Blanket Exercise

The KAIROS Blanket Exercise is offered at Western through a partnership between the Office of Indigenous Initiatives and the Transition, Leadership, and Development department in Student Experience.

What is it?

The KAIROS Blanket Exercise (KBE) is an experiential teaching tool that explores the historic and contemporary relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the land we now know as Canada.

Responding to the 1996 Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, the Aboriginal Rights Coalition (which became part of KAIROS in 2001) worked with Indigenous elders and educators in 1996 to develop an interactive way to learn the history that most Canadians were never taught.

History of Kairos Blanket Exercise

Created in 1997 by the Aboriginal Rights Coalition (ARC), a precursor to KAIROS, the KBE was initially meant to introduce Canadians to the major themes and findings of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP).

The Coalition brought together Elders, Indigenous educators, and allies who wanted to make sure that RCAP and its recommendations were not shelved and forgotten. The KBE is built on the foundation of these long standing, collaborative initiatives and relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples to raise awareness of continuing injustices and impacts of colonization, and to promote further learning. For over two decades, ARC and now KAIROS have guided its ongoing development with the leadership of Elders and Indigenous facilitators across this land.

Kairos Blanket Exercise at Western

Western offers the KBE to students, staff and faculty. We began a partnership with Kairos in 2018 and now we are working with an external Indigenous Facilitator (who we’ve worked extensively with for many years). Due to the staff resources required to offer the KBE, we do not have in-house staff presently able to facilitate.

If you are interested in offering the KBE to your class, team or department, please review our KBE requirements to ensure you can meet our eligibility. Once you’ve verified that you meet the eligibility requirements, you can request a KBE using the link below.

KBE Eligibility Requirements

  • Must have a minimum of 22 participants (maximum of 38 participants)
  • Must have budget to support the training fee
  • Must book a minimum of 8 weeks in advance and provide multiple date options
  • Must have a minimum of 2.5- 3 hours set aside for learning experience
  • Follow Guidelines for Working with Indigenous Community Members
  • Hosts must arrange for and provide parking for facilitators
  • All snacks/food must be supplied by the host (we ask that bottled water not be used/served)

Training Fee: $750 (includes payment for external facilitators)