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Dolores Gull

Beaded Plague Doctor Mask 
CREE STYLE BY De LORES by Dolores Gull 
Weenusk First Nation // Timmins, ON
Traditional smoked tan caribou, snowy owl feathers, seed beads, beaded lightning, stars, floral designs
2021
FRC2021.01.021

Artist Dolores Gull, originally from the Weenusk First Nation, has been making crafts and masterpieces for more than 30 years. She uses visions of the past to blend traditional style with a more contemporary look. The idea to create this mask, a version of which spread widely online, came to her after seeing images of the beak-like masks worn by plague doctors in the 17th century.1 Gull says those old plague masks reminded her of Sundance ceremonies, a Plains Indigenous cultural ceremony.2 Gull’s mask is made of traditional smoked caribou, snowy owl feathers, and seed beads in lightning, stars, and floral designs. The lightning is meant as a reminder “to be in balance with life” while the flowers represent a connection to the land.3

@creestylebydelores (external link) 

 

1 https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/indigenous-arts-crafts-mask-coronavirus-1.5541049 (external link) 
2 https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sun-dance (external link) 
3 https://wawataynews.ca/culture/dolores-gull%E2%80%99-plague-doctor-masks-be-featured-indigenous-fashion-show (external link) 

Leather plague doctor mask with beaded floral designs
Side view of the leather plague doctor mask
Detail shot of the colourful beaded floral designs on the mask
Delores wearing a black floral plague doctor mask

Photograph by Faith Chookomolin.

A beaded floral design on the side of the face mask.
6 people wearing beaded plague doctor face masks in a forest

Photograph by Faith Chookomolin.

Decorative ribbon and feathers that hang from the side of the face mask
Delores wearing her beaded plague doctor face mask

Photograph by Faith Chookomolin.