We Decorate Our World #8 - Coast Salish Masks

Coast Salish Frog Spirit Mask

Coast Salish Shark Mask

On Tuesday, the Water Group and Wind Group partnered together to learn about a Coast Salish community that lives very close to us, the Musqueam. We learned that the Coast Salish and other First Nations use masks to tell stories during potlatches and the winter ceremonial dances. The masks may depict animals, humans or mythical beings and they are usually carved from a light wood so they are not too heavy to dance in.

preparing the paper for paper mache

First Nation connection

For the activity, the two groups made masks of their own using paper mache. As we waited for the paper mache to dry, the children looked through different Northwest Coast First Nation designs to put on their mask.