Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

NON-MEDICAL FACE COVERING

Date Range From

2020

Date Range To

2020

Materials

FABRIC, ELASTIC, WIRE, THREAD

No. Pieces

1

Length

19.5

Width

7.5

Description

HANDMADE CLOTH MASK WITH BROWN, BLUE, RED, AND ORANGE DREAMCATCHER DESIGN ON ONE SIDE. THERE IS A BLUE, PURPLE, PINK, AND WHITE DESIGN ON THE REVERSE SIDE. THERE ARE PLEATS IN THE FABRIC. THERE ARE WHITE ELASTIC LOOPS ON EITHER SIDE FOR GOING AROUND THE EARS. THERE IS WIRE SEWN BETWEEN LAYERS OF FABRIC INSIDE THE TOP OF THE MASK. THE MASK IS SEWN WITH WHITE THREAD AND A STRAIGHT STITCH. SOME OF THE STITCHING IS UNEVEN, AND THE ELASTIC IS VERY SLIGHTLY DISCOLOURED AND WORN.

Subjects

PERSONAL GEAR

INDIGENOUS

REGULATIVE & PROTECTIVE T&E

Historical Association

PERSONAL CARE

DOMESTIC

HEALTH SERVICES

History

ON JUNE 26TH, 2020 COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN MET WITH GRETA MANY BEARS (AAKAOHKSI'KITSTAKIYAAKII) TO DISCUSS THE HANDMADE FACE MASK SHE MADE IN THE WAKE OF COVID-19 AND THEN DONATED TO THE MUSEUM. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS DERIVED FROM THEIR INTERVIEW. GRETA SHARED THAT: “…THE REASON WE DECIDED TO START MAKING MASKS WAS…BECAUSE WE WANTED TO MAKE SOME STUFF TO HELP WITH THIS COVID-19, AND WE WANTED TO…MAKE A BUNCH AND JUST GIVE THEM OUT…OF COURSE ALL THE SEWING PLACES ONLY ALLOW SO MUCH OF THE ELASTIC. SO THAT WAS WHAT WE WERE MAKING EVERY WEEKEND, AND WE WERE JUST TRAVELLING WITH THEM AND JUST GIVING THEM OUT.” “WE STARTED HEARING ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE MAKING...DIFFERENT TYPES OF MASKS, BUT THEY WERE SELLING THEM FOR FORTY-FIVE DOLLARS FOR ONE, THAT WAS ONE OF THE RUMORS I HEARD... WHEN A WOMAN NEEDED A MASK FOR HERSELF AND HER CHILDREN, WE WERE OVER AT ONE OF THE RELATIVES HOUSES… WE HAVE SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE AND EVEN A BIT LARGER THAN THAT…WE HAD DIFFERENT SIZES. SHE SAID SHE REALLY NEEDED ONE AND WANTED TO GET ONE FOR HERSELF AND HER KIDS, AND I JUST GAVE HER THE BAGS OF MASKS THAT WE HAD…I TOLD HER ‘THE SMALL ONES ARE MAINLY FOR KIDS,’…SO SHE DID HER SELECTION, AND THE NEXT THING SHE SAYS IS, ‘HOW MUCH?’ AND I TOLD HER THEY WERE FOR FREE. I TOLD HER WE WERE JUST MAKING THEM, BECAUSE WE WOULD RATHER HELP OUT OTHER PEOPLE BY WEARING A MASK, RATHER THAN SELLING THEM. THAT WAS THE REASON WHY.” “WE WANTED TO DO IT BECAUSE WE WANTED TO HELP OUT OTHERS…BY GIVING THEM AWAY FOR FREE. WE JUST ASKED THEM TO PRAY FOR US.” ON WHEN GRETA STARTED MAKING THE MASKS, SHE SAID: “I THINK BY APRIL... AROUND MID-APRIL.” GRETA COMMENTED ON HOW SHE LEARNED TO MAKE AND CUSTOMIZE THE MASKS: "I TOLD MY DAUGHTER [THAT LIVES DOWN EAST] WHAT WE WANTED TO DO... I TOLD HER WANTED TO MAKE THE MASKS ONCE WE GOT THE ELASTICS, AND THEN WE HAD ALL THE MATERIAL THAT WE NEEDED… SHE SENT ME SOME DIFFERENT THINGS FROM YOUTUBE… THE ONLY THING DIFFERENT THAT I DID WAS I PUT THIS [NOSE PIECE]...IN THERE.” “EVERYBODY JUST LOVES [THE NOSE PIECE]. YOU CAN PUT IT ON AND PINCH IT ON YOUR NOSE, SO YOUR GLASSES DON’T STEAM UP.” "[THE NOSE PIECE IS MADE OF] PIPE CLEANER…AND ON THE CENTER, I PUT A NET IN THERE, SO YOU CAN KIND OF BREATHE THROUGH. WE WERE JUST TALKING LAST NIGHT BECAUSE WE CAME INTO TOWN, AND OUR MASKS WERE HOT BECAUSE OF THE WEATHER CHANGING TO NICE WEATHER SO NOW I TOLD MY DAUGHTER, ‘OKAY, WE ARE GOING TO FIGURE SOMETHING OUT.’ I ALREADY GOT SOMETHING GOING, WE ARE GOING TO DO SOME MORE MASKS THAT ARE GOING TO BE COOLER FOR THE SUMMER. WE ALREADY HAVE SOME THOUGHTS IN MIND, LIKE WHAT KIND OF MATERIAL.” GRETA TALKED ABOUT THE UNIQUE QUALITIES OF HER MASKS: “IT IS NOT JUST...THE MASKS, BUT ANYTHING ELSE WE MAKE WE RECOGNIZE IT [AS SOMETHING WE MADE]. IT COULD BE THE DESIGNS OR THE MATERIAL THAT WE USE. THAT IS HOW WE RECOGNIZE THEM.” “THE ONLY OTHER THING THAT CHANGED IS WHAT I PUT INSIDE AND I AM ADDING ON THIS PIPE CLEANER, THOSE WERE ALL OUR OWN THOUGHTS. ON YOUTUBE, IT ONLY SHOWED YOU [ONE PART OF THE MASK]. WE JUST ADDED [THE NOSE PIECE] IN ON OUR OWN.” ON THE NUMBER OF MASKS GRETA PRODUCED, SHE SAID: “WE HAVE MADE QUITE A BIT, I CAN’T SAY HOW MANY, BUT WE DID MAKE A LOT, AND WE STILL WANT TO MAKE SOME MORE. THE OTHER THING WE ARE GOING TO DO HERE IN TOWN IS PICK UP SOME MORE ELASTIC, AND GET SOME MORE MATERIAL.” GRETA SPOKE ABOUT THE PANDEMIC AND CREATING: “…THIS ISN’T THE FIRST [PANDEMIC] THAT WE HAVE BEEN THROUGH, THERE WAS THE SARS, SWINE FLU AND THERE WAS TB WAY BACK THEN. I CAUGHT TB BACK THEN FROM BOARDING SCHOOL. WHAT WE ARE BEING TOLD IS ‘BE SAFE’, SO THAT IS WHAT WE ARE DOING. WE HAVE OUR MASKS, I HAVE ANOTHER ONE IN HERE, WE HAVE OUR HAND SANITIZERS ON US, AND WE ARE TRYING TO BE CAREFUL WITH WHATEVER WE DO…WE ARE [STAYING AT] HOME, EITHER THAT OR WE ARE OUT DOING OUR SUMMER PICKING AND GETTING READY FOR WINTER. I AM MORE STRESSED OUT AND I GET WORRIED WHEN WE HAVE TO COME INTO TOWN, BECAUSE [AT] HOME WE ALWAYS HAVE LOTS TO DO. WE HAVE BEEN IN BUSINESS [WITH] OUR SMALL BUSINESS FOR ABOUT THIRTY YEARS, AND THAT WASN’T JUST TO BE RICH. WHEN I STARTED DOING ALL OUR CRAFT WORK, I TAUGHT ALL MY CHILDREN. RIGHT NOW OUR BUSINESS IS [THREE BEARS] TRADITIONAL CRAFTS...IT IS NOT ONLY THE MASKS THAT WE ARE DOING, BUT WE ALSO WORK WITH RAWHIDE, THE DRUMS, RATTLES, WE MAKE SKIRTS AND DO BEAD WORK, A LOT OF STUFF…WOOD WORK.” “MY MOTHER, A LONG TIME AGO, WANTED TO TEACH ME TO USE THE SEWING MACHINE TO MAKE BLANKETS, BUT I ENJOYED DOING BEADWORK MORE AND ALSO HELPING MY DAD WORK WITH RAWHIDE TO DO THE DRUMS AND THE RATTLES. AT AN EARLY AGE, MY DAD WAS MAKING RAWHIDE, SO HE LET ME HELP SCRAPE AT THAT TIME. I NEVER REALLY TOOK UP SEWING [QUILTS] FROM MY MOTHER. I REMEMBER HER MAKING THE BLANKETS, I REMEMBER THE STEPS SHE DID—HOW SHE MADE HER QUILTS, BUT I AM UNABLE TO MAKE PATTERNS. I WAS OVER AT RED CROW BEFORE IT BURNT AND THEY WERE GOING TO HAVE A SEWING CLASS... THEY HAD SEWING MACHINES BUT OF COURSE RAYMOND SAID ‘GO OUT AND BUY YOUR OWN BECAUSE IF YOU ARE GOING TO LEARN, YOU MIGHT AS WELL LEARN WITH YOUR OWN SEWING MACHINE’, SO I WENT OUT AND I BOUGHT ONE…THE REASON WHY I WANTED TO LEARN HOW TO SEW WAS BECAUSE I SAW SO MANY SKIRTS THAT WERE SO PRETTY, BUT THE PRICE I COULD NOT AFFORD. SO I SAID, ‘IF I EVER GET THE CHANCE I AM GOING TO LEARN HOW TO SEW,’ SO THAT IS WHAT I DID.” “…SO I BOUGHT MY OWN SEWING MACHINE AND I LEARNT HOW TO MAKE SKIRTS AND...I STARTED COMING UP WITH MY OWN DESIGNS. SOMEBODY ELSE IS TRYING TO COPY MY SKIRT... SOMEBODY TOOK A PICTURE OF IT AND ONE OF MY NIECES MET UP WITH THIS GIRL THAT SHE KNEW AND SHE SAID, ‘I REALLY LIKE THIS, I AM GOING TO TRY AND COPY IT.’ IT IS PROBABLY OUT THERE NOW. EVERYTHING WE THINK OF ON OUR OWN, SO THAT IS HOW I LEARNT TO MAKE SKIRTS. FROM THERE…WE KNOW HOW TO USE A SEWING MACHINE, WE HAVE GOT TO DO OTHER STUFF, SO WE STARTED DOING OUR OWN CREATIONS WITH OUR SEWING MACHINES.” FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION, PLEASE SEE THE DONATION'S PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20200023000

Acquisition Date

2020-06

Collection

Museum

Less detail