August 2022 Witness to Injustice
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PLEASE NOTE: This workshop recording was only available for 30 days post-workshop at the request of the facilitators.You can still enjoy use of the home exploration exercises for this month’s topic though.
The Witness to Injustice / KAIROS Blanket Exercise™ is a unique 2 ½-3-hour interactive group teaching tool. It uses participatory education to foster truth, understanding, and respect between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the part of the world now known as the United States; especially in the territory stewarded by people of the Onondaga Nation and other Haundenosaunee peoples.
Our program can be done in-person or virtually by using meaningful quotes and visual representations of each part of the history we speak of. When done in person, blankets cover the floor, representing the various Indigenous Nations of this continent (Turtle Island). We explore this shared history that people rarely learn in school or other settings. The Exercise helps participants deepen their understanding about the European colonization of Turtle Island and the denial of Indigenous peoples’ nationhood and the (many times illegal) acquisition of land throughout U.S. history up to present time. After the Witness to Injustice Exercise, participants have the opportunity to share with the group what they learned, felt, etc., and, resources are shared by facilitators to help participants continue to learn more.
We hope this program will stimulate deep discussions and reflections, and will point the way toward ongoing steps toward righting the wrongs which have been done. Join Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation (NOON) and Haudenosaunee facilitators as we participate in learning and dialogue through this exercise.
The Witness to Injustice/KAIROS Blanket Exercise Program has been inspired by KAIROS of Canada, was redesigned and is facilitated by a Team of Haudenosaunee people and their Allies from Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation (NOON). We have been working together for years on various projects in the
Central part of the land we now know as New York State; land stolen from the original Haudenosaunee people over the past 400 years. We work together in a peaceful and cooperative way, paving a path as we tell the truth about the untold history that has been brushed aside for far too long.
By working together in the spirit of the Two Row Wampum Treaty, we can make a difference culturally, spiritually and ethically.
The Onondaga people are part of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. The Haudenosaunee Confederacy consists of six nations joined together, The Cayuga, Seneca, Tuscarora, Onondaga, Oneida and Mohawk Nations.
Our non-native facilitators are all members of NOON, an ally organization, part of the Syracuse Peace Council. We are teachers, community organizers, professors, activists, neighbors whom are all dedicated to raising awareness of Indigenous sovereignty and the true history of the attempted genocide of the original peoples of this land.
If you are interested in this experience for your community or organization, you can reach out to cindy.squillace@gmail.com
Here are resources for further exploration:
Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation
Skä-noñh - Great Law of Peace Center
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