How does The Witness Blanket and the story it tells make you think about your own culture, and the idea of giving up parts of it?

ASSIGNMENT ONE: REFLECTION – 400-600 words, 5% on The Witness Blanket
The Residential School System in Canada was part of a global colonial effort to move Indigenous people
off their lands, separate children from their parents and siblings, and strip them of their identity, language
and culture. Although the last Residential School closed in 1996, the foster child system in Canada
continues to disproportionately include First Nations children.
The Witness Blanket is a large-scale art installation, created to “recognize the atrocities of the Indian
Residential School era, honour the children, and symbolize ongoing reconciliation.” The three-and-a-half-minute trailer “The Witness Blanket,” presents a brief overview of the Residential School system in
Canada, and explains artist Casey Newman’s response to it. This is just an excerpt of a longer
documentary about The Witness Blanket project, but there is some content that may be upsetting, so please
take time to pause as needed.
Deep listening, attention to detail, empathy for others, and an appreciation of diverse perspectives are key
attributes of a good communicator. They are also essential employability skills in our increasingly
globalized world. If you can listen well and truly hear and feel another’s story, you will do well in both
your personal and professional relationships. In the case of The Witness Blanket, this will also help us get
closer to Reconciliation.
You’ll write a 400-500 word reflection about this documentary and the concept of the blanket, and the
ideas and feelings it raises. Some questions to consider: How – and what – does “The Witness Blanket”
make you feel?; Which artifacts or pieces are memorable for you personally, and why?; What is our
responsibility as “witnesses” to this blanket and to the Residential School system?; What does a blanket
symbolize for you?; How does The Witness Blanket and the story it tells make you think about your own
culture, and the idea of giving up parts of it?; How do we keep history alive?; How can we honour those
we’ve lost?; How do we learn (our) history?;

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