Chelsea Kaiah

Jingle Mask

Kokum scarf, hide, beads, metal jingles, beads, and quills

Self portrait wearing jingle mask made from Kokum scarf, hide, beads, metal jingles, beads, and quills.

"Part of a virtual exhibition about masks during Covid, Jingle Mask was created to bring awareness of how the Native community was being treated and severely affected during Covid. An homage to Jingle dresses – a traditional regalia in powwow – meant as a ceremony dress to bring about healing.

Much like the dresses, this jingle mask was meant to represent healing against the virus. A lot of the Native community, due to lack of resources and urgency from the government, didn't get the vaccine or funding for healthcare much later than most. The community turned to natural ways of healing and ceremony."

– Chelsea Kaiah

About the artist

Chelsea Kaiah

Chelsea Kaiah (b. 1995) is an Ute and Apache/ Irish settler, born on the Northern Ute reservation. As an artist, she currently resides in Denver, Colorado. She is a passionate activist for Native rights, awareness, and sustainability. Kaiah earned her BFA at Watkins College of Art and Design in Nashville, Tennessee. Today she learns traditional practices of pine needle weaving, beading, porcupine quilling, buffalo hunting, and hide work. Incorporating her interdisciplinary skills to meld a perspective of culture and artistic practice, she believes reflecting the human condition is an important connection to reignite nature-based relationships between cultural and physical environments.