Join us November 15, 2023 from 10:00am to 3:00pm for a morning workshop with Lisa Tink, researcher and consultant, followed by a Blanket Exercise led by he Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre.
Lunch will be provided.
Info about the morning workshop
In recent years recreation scholars and professionals began calling for a return to municipal recreation's historical roots as a "public good." Blaming ongoing funding cuts (at all levels of government) for the current pay-per-use model, these calls for a more inclusive recreation system have suggested the sector's "business-like" practices should be of concern because they are in direct opposition to the field's historic mandate of "equal opportunity."
A central assumption underlying these calls for the recreation profession to return to its "historical roots" is that municipal recreation services, until the late 1980s and early 1990s, were available to all members of society. This narrative is, however, a romanticized account of recreation's history.
Through a historical re-reading of 'public' recreation, this workshop challenges the often-repeated narrative of a more inclusive era in recreation's past. Tracing some of the conditions that have given rise to our current recreation systems, Dr. Tink will demonstrates how recreation has by design, always been an exclusive environment targeting white, able-bodied settlers. Afterwards, she will guide participants through a critical dialogue intended to explore what is inherently problematic, difficult and dangerous in the discourses, practices, and policies that guide their day- to-day work as recreation programmers and policy-makers.
Blanket Exercise Info
The blanket exercise is an interactive educational program that teaches the history of indigenous peoples in Canada. The program was created in response to the 1996 report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, and is used as a teaching tool across Canada.
The Blanket exercise was first developed in 1996 around the time the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples was presented to Parliament.Kairos worked with Elders across Canada, AFN and others to devise it as an interactive education tool to help people understand the history and legacy of relationship between First Nations and European settlers. It is a living document and continues to be revised in conjunction with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdiIHoRzR7D2UKWe0rdVzEdv0E8Y9BHTbagE3HPYHOkUfQEcA/viewform