Beaded mask contest winner honours the sister she lost during the pandemic

COVID-19 has taken a heavy toll on people in Manitoba First Nations, which have experienced high rates of infection and hospitalizations. To help lift people’s spirits, Fisher River Cree Nation’s healing centre recently created a beaded mask contest for folks to keep busy during the pandemic.

The contest opened on Feb. 1 to three communities: Fisher River Cree Nation, Kinonjeoshtegon or Jackhead First Nation and Peguis First Nation — where the first-place winner lives, approximately 190 kilometres north of Winnipeg. 

Susie Cochrane, the winner, says she lost a lot of family members during the last two years of the pandemic, including her sister, who used to bead