Archive for 2018
800 students learn to “combat racism and ignorance” through the KAIROS Blanket Exercise
August 17, 2018
The blankets represent land in Canada and the participants are the Indigenous people or European settlers Photo: Students were placed into groups and were asked to pick and sit on a blanket of their choice. The blankets represent land in Canada,…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
Ecumenical Call to stop the demolition of Khan al Ahmar
August 16, 2018
“By silence and inaction, governments have become complicit in this violation of international law…” KAIROS joins fifteen international faith-based, civil society, and human rights organizations from around the world in collectively calling on our governments to take action to stop…
Post filed in: Middle East
KAIROS Signs-on to letter in response to killing of Guatemalan land and life defender Ángel Estuardo Quevedo
August 8, 2018
In response to the killing of human rights defender Ángel Estuardo Quevedo on July 12, 2018 in the municipality of Santa Rosa de Lima, Guatemala, KAIROS has joined over 60 civil society organizations from across Canada and the United States…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Latin America
Witness to Injustice: The KAIROS Blanket Exercise
August 8, 2018
Photo: This painting features an Onondaga Gustoweh (headgear) by Onondaga artist Josephine M. Cook for the Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign. Posters can be purchased online. This article was written by Kaluhyanu:wes and Michelle Schenandoah and originally published in Onoñda’geh…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
Spirited Reflection: From reconciliation to reckoning
August 1, 2018
August 9th is the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, the day set aside by the United Nations to promote the protection of Indigenous rights and to mark the day, thirty-six years ago, that a working group focused on…
Post filed in: Spirited Reflections
Grassroots feminist initiatives for peace in post-agreement Colombia
July 30, 2018
In the Magdalena Medio region of Colombia, where the Organización Femenina Popular (Popular Feminist Organization or OFP) operates, a climate of political uncertainty, social insecurity, and economic precarity prevails. While the signing of the Final Peace Agreement—unprecedented in its inclusion…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
Indigenous and Newcomer Friendships: Building relationships of solidarity
July 25, 2018
Guests of the Festival of Faith were invited to participate in a workshop presented by Alfredo Barahona and Dawn Maracle that shared experiences with the KAIROS Blanket Exercise and the KAIROS project, Indigenous and Newcomer Friendships for a Just and Inclusive Community. While…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
Letter to the Editor: Investing in peace will reduce need for defence spending
July 18, 2018
Re: “NATO or not, Canadian defence spending should rise,” (The Hill Times, July 11, p.8). As the government considers an increase in defence spending, I hope it will also invest in effective peacebuilding efforts in the world’s most vulnerable regions….
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage
Trailblazer: Iron and Earth
July 18, 2018
Towards a Renewable Energy Economy Fossil fuel extraction creates a boom and bust cycle for the economy. Nowhere is this truer than in Canada, where workers in the oil, gas and coal industry are starting to look to renewable energy…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Spirited Reflection: The grace of giving
June 28, 2018
Second Corinthians 8:7-15 talks about giving, and it has a message for us today. The church in Jerusalem had fallen on hard times financially. It started off great, with believers sharing everything they had in the belief that Christ would…
Post filed in: Spirited Reflections
Canada boosts transformative work of grassroots women peace builders
June 26, 2018
Women are often prime targets in war but, when given the chance, they can also be critical agents for peace. Isabel Caicedo is one such woman. Forcibly displaced from her home after paramilitary forces massacred her neighbours during a decades-long…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage
Why this blanket exercise is now essential training for RCMP cadets
June 26, 2018
The exercise synthesizes 500 years of colonization under the observation of a local Indigenous elder. This past winter, the RCMP introduced a new educational tool at its Regina training academy: the KAIROS blanket exercise. Developed by its namesake ecumenical advocacy organization,…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
KAIROS Times: June 2018
June 25, 2018
Hot off the press! The June 2018 KAIROS Times.
Post filed in: KAIROS Times E-Newsletter
Spirited Reflection: What do we pray for when we pray for peace?
June 24, 2018
Photo credit to Jonathan Sears. This year, some Muslims celebrated the end of the month of Ramadan under a cloud of fear, dislocation, and suffering. I’d been speaking again with a friend of twenty years from Mali, a majority-Sunni Muslim…
Post filed in: Spirited Reflections
Blanket exercise coordinator educates non-Indigenous people about shared history of Canada
June 22, 2018
Susan Beaudin knows about the power of a blanket. The educator from Cowessess First Nation is a residential school survivor. She is also the Kairos Blanket Exercise Coordinator for Saskatchewan. In her role, she travels to different communities, institutions, and…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
New Video: Indigenous and Newcomer Friendships for a Just and Inclusive Canada
June 21, 2018
Indigenous and newcomer communities came together in five Canadian cities for delicious feasts, cultural exchanges, and dialogue from October 2017 to March 2018. As part of KAIROS’ Indigenous and Newcomer Friendships for a Just and Inclusive Canada project, refugees, immigrants…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Migrant Justice, Video Playlists & Photo Albums
The KAIROS Blanket Exercise goes to Alaska
June 21, 2018
Interest in the KAIROS Blanket Exercise (KBE) is growing beyond Canada’s borders In late May I traveled to Anchorage, Alaska with Lillian Underwood, an Indigenous KBE trainer and facilitator based in B.C., and my colleague, KBE Coordinator Sara Anderson, for…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
Trailblazer: Earth Quaker Action Team
June 21, 2018
Local green energy, unlocked by local green jobs by Rachael Warriner: performers with Hardwork Movement at a youth-led action. Is climate change a huge crisis or a huge opportunity? Some Pennsylvania community activists are answering: “Both, if we want it…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Walking the Red Road – National Aboriginal Day (June 21st)
June 20, 2018
I thank Creator for making me who I am and guiding my steps as I try to walk “the Red Road” in “the Way of Jesus.” Then, I say thank you to the Mohawk people of the Iroquois Confederacy who…
Post filed in: Spirited Reflections
Speak for the Silenced
June 12, 2018
Politically motivated audits by Canada Revenue Agency have silenced the voices and threatened the future existence of vital charities in Canada. Here is a chance to do something positive about this injustice. Send a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau to…
Post filed in: Uncategorized
Psalm 138: Thanksgiving and Praise – of David
June 8, 2018
1 I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; 2 I bow down towards your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness; for you have exalted…
Post filed in: Spirited Reflections
Spirited Reflection: Beholding a turtle
June 4, 2018
Sunning itself on a log near the shore of Six Mile Lake in Muskoka was a small turtle with its eyes closed. I crept up closely and gently picked up the turtle in my hand. Immediately, its little legs danced…
Post filed in: Spirited Reflections
Coalition welcomes House of Commons commitment to implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
May 31, 2018
The Coalition for the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples – made up of Indigenous Nations, Indigenous peoples’ organizations, civil society groups and individual experts and advocates – is commending Members of Parliament on the adoption of Bill C-262, a private…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
Video message from our partners about Global Affairs Canada funding
May 30, 2018
Today we celebrate resilience and solidarity! We are delighted to announce that the KAIROS proposal to Global Affairs Canada for Women of Courage: Women Peace and Security, a five country, five year project led by grassroots women, has been fully…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage
MEDIA RELEASE: KAIROS’ Women of Courage: Women, Peace and Security Program to receive $4.5 million
May 30, 2018
(le français suit) (Toronto, ON) – KAIROS Canada is thrilled to announce a renewed collaboration with the Government of Canada to deliver Women of Courage: Women, Peace and Security in Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Philippines, South…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Media Releases
Bill C-262 provides principled framework for implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
May 29, 2018
Open Letter to All Members of Parliament Our nations and organizations are urging all Members of Parliament to support Bill C-262 in a non-partisan manner when it comes to a vote at third reading. The government of Stephen Harper endorsed…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, UNDRIP Blog Updates
Spirited Reflection: Finding ways to walk together in faith
May 23, 2018
Photo of The Rev Dr. Margaret Mullin was taken by Vivian Ketchum. Reconciliation between Indigenous People and the Church will be a centuries-long journey. I am committed to that journey by virtue of my DNA, Ojibway and Irish/Scottish I…
Post filed in: Spirited Reflections
