Blanket Exercise Teaches Empathy

Anishinaabe presenter and facilitator Ginger Cote of The Waaban Nang Collective visited Grade 8 boys earlier this month to teach them about the shared history of Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada through a powerful and engaging group activity called The Blanket Exercise. 

Students stood on blankets that had been laid on the floor of the MS/US Library to represent the land where Indigenous peoples lived, called Turtle Island. Through storytelling by Cote’s co-presenters Serenity Pezendewatch and Lennox Cote and guided reading from students, the group learned about the history of colonization, the effects of the Indian Act, the Residential School system, and Indigenous resistance. 

As the stories progressed, the blankets were rolled or folded up, representing the changes in land ownership and colonization. Students left their blankets to demonstrate how Indigenous communities were decimated as diseases like smallpox, measles and tuberculosis were introduced to Turtle Island by Europeans. The interactive aspect of the presentation is designed to deepen the learning experience for students and help develop their understanding and empathy for Indigenous peoples.