Indigenous Rights
Communities coming together for Reconciliation
February 19, 2019
Reflections on the Blanket Exercise On June 9th, 2018, Vancouver Monthly Meeting gathered with the Vancouver Unitarian community on unceded Musqueam and Coast Salish territory in a beautiful intergenerational Blanket Exercise. The Blanket Exercise is a teaching tool developed by…
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Spirited Reflection: From the Doctrine of Discovery to the killing of Colten Boushie
February 15, 2019
When an apparently all-white jury acquitted Saskatchewan farmer Gerald Stanley a year ago of any wrongdoing in the August 2016 killing of 22-year-old Cree man, Colten Boushie, their action pierced the hearts of Indigenous people and their allies across Turtle…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Spirited Reflections
Federal, provincial and territorial interpretation and implementation of FPIC must be aligned with Canada’s human rights obligations
February 14, 2019
In December, in two separate letters issued under their Early-Warning Measures and Urgent Action Procedures, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) called on Canada to seek independent, expert advice on implementation of the right of…
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Ecumenical letter to Senators on Bill C-262
February 8, 2019
Ten faith based organizations urge Canada’s Senators to support Bill C-262, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. In a joint letter released on February 7, the Senators were reminded that the time for action is now. KAIROS…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, UNDRIP Blog Updates
Spirited Reflection: When called to paths toward reconciliation
February 6, 2019
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany 5 – February 10, 2019 Luke 5:1-11 we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets. (Luke 5:5) For me, 2018 was a year…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Spirited Reflections
Christians working on global issues can be a thankless job
January 17, 2019
Finding pathways to truth and reconciliation has become the latest focus for Christian activists in Canada. The nation’s churches and church members have been active on social justice issues over many decades, a Lethbridge audience was reminded Thursday. But Joe…
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KAIROS Blanket Exercise a sad journey into Indigenous history
January 8, 2019
It was like gazing at a map of the world, but one turned upside-down. The KAIROS Blanket Exercise is a two-hour journey through 400 years of tragedy, and it evokes a powerful sense of the wrongs Indigenous people have suffered…
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Needs Improvement: Educators make progress on Indigenous curriculum, but more work to do
December 14, 2018
In the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call to include more study on Indigenous issues in school curriculum, it appears educators across the country are taking the recommendations to heart. In its second report card on how Canadian…
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“We’re definitely not the best nation in the world,” school children learn about colonialism
December 5, 2018
“Getting to the truth was hard, but getting to reconciliation will be harder. It requires that the paternalistic and racist foundations of the residential school system be rejected as the basis for an ongoing relationship. “Reconciliation requires that a new…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
The KAIROS Blanket Exercise in Ireland
December 3, 2018
A KAIROS Blanket Exercise (KBE) team travelled to Ireland in November to facilitate the exercise for Trócaire, a development and emergency relief agency that works “to support the most vulnerable people in the developing world, while also raising awareness of…
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Ecumenical Community writes PM regarding recent Supreme Court decision
November 21, 2018
On November 9, in response to the Mikisew Cree First Nation v. Canada Supreme Court of Canada decision, KAIROS Canada and Mennonite Church Canada (MCC) wrote to the Prime Minister urging him to ensure that Indigenous Peoples are fully involved…
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Winds of Change: Education for Reconciliation update in BC
November 7, 2018
On October 30, 2018 a delegation consisting of Janet Gray (BC-Yukon KAIROS Regional Representative) Susan Draper (KAIROS Victoria), Rev. Laura Kavanagh (KAIROS national steering committee member), Ruth D’Hollander (Aboriginal Neighbours), and Indigenous leaders and educators, Nella and Alex Nelson, met…
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Ontario mustn’t backslide on education about Indigenous issues
October 29, 2018
It was déjà vû. When the Ontario government cancelled curriculum-writing sessions this summer on truth and reconciliation, I was immediately taken back to 1998 when I was part of a team writing curriculum for the Ontario Ministry of Education. At…
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NEW VIDEO: Launch of updated Education for Reconciliation Report Card
October 10, 2018
Photo: Ellen Wood, Jennifer Henry, Alison Cox, Shannon Perez, Cheryl McNamara, Susie McPherson and Ed Bianchi. The E4R Report Card was released on October 9th, 2018 at a press conference at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in Winnipeg….
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MEDIA RELEASE: Encouraging progress on TRC Call to Action 62.i: Education for Reconciliation
October 9, 2018
(Ottawa, ON) – The majority of provinces and territories are making progress towards implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s (TRC) Call to Action 62.i – also known as Education for Reconciliation, according to KAIROS Canada in its updated…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Media Releases
At University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine, leaders take part in KAIROS Blanket Exercise that teaches Indigenous history and trauma
September 27, 2018
Photo by Liam Mitchell: Department chairs and senior leaders in the Faculty of Medicine participate in the KAIROS Blanket Exercise. Dr. Lisa Richardson, co-lead of Indigenous Medical Education in the MD Program, says that the KAIROS Blanket Exercise is…
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Spirited Reflection: Orange Shirt Day
September 18, 2018
Orange Shirt Day is on Sunday, September 30. The day is inspired by Phyllis Jack Webstad’s experience. On her first day at residential school in 1973, Phyllis was stripped of her new orange shirt, a shirt that had brought her…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Spirited Reflections
Urge Senators to support the UN Declaration Act
September 18, 2018
Join KAIROS in urging all Senators to vote in favour of Bill C-262, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. KAIROS is part of a Coalition of Faith Based Organizations* that is focused on ensuring that the…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, UNDRIP Blog Updates
Federal Court of Appeal overturns approvals for Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project
September 14, 2018
September 5, 2018 “I’m glad today the courts heard the teachings of our culture and our spirit…” Chief Rueben George, Tsleil-Waututh First Nation KAIROS Canada recognizes the importance of the August 30 Federal Court of Appeal decision to overturn…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Indigenous Rights
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,…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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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…
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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