The Weyburn Ministerial Association held a “Blanket Exercise” at Knox Hall on Saturday with approximately 35 people in attendance. Leadership was provided by three Indigenous recent high school graduates from Fort Qu’Appelle where they had the opportunity to receive training in facilitation skills for this program. Their instructor supported the three students, Michael Cardinal, Skylar Cyr and J.J. Gordon and was accompanied by another student currently enrolled in that same program.
The “Blanket Exercise” was developed by KAIROS, a national interdenominational church group whose purpose is to address social justice issues. This exercise is an experiential approach to educating folks about the impact of settlement, primarily European, on the lives of indigenous people. Participants were engaged in assuming certain roles in the stories being told. A debriefing of the experience occurred through a talking circle process at the conclusion of the exercise. The feedback was that it was powerful in emotionally connecting attendees with the subject matter being presented. It was also highly recommended that more opportunities be provided in the community for people to experience this exercise, particularly for school students, professionals and persons working in the human service fields such as police, health, social services and emergency response fields.
The planning group of the Weyburn Ministerial Association will meet on October 10t at noon at Grace United Church to consider following up on the feedback received and other possible initiatives that might be undertaken to strengthen the relationships between indigenous and non Indigenous people as recommended in the Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Anyone wanting more information is encouraged to contact a minister at any of the local churches.
