Holtby working with Indigenous artist on new mask for Canucks

Braden Holtby and Sweden-based artist Dave Gunnarsson have begun to work with an Indigenous artist on a new mask for the Vancouver Canucks goalie after their original design sparked calls of cultural appropriation.

"I have great respect for Indigenous artists, and Braden and I have started to collaborate with an Indigenous artist to make a new painting," Gunnarsson said on his Instagram account.
Holtby issued an apology Saturday after images of his mask, which featured an Indigenous Thunderbird and were shared by Gunnarsson, who designs masks for many NHL goalies, drew criticism on social media. In addition to the image of the Thunderbird, the social media post included the phrase, "Thunderbird, The Northwest Coast Indigenous Myth."
"I wanted to make sure I apologize to anyone I offended," Holtby said in an interview with CTV News. "It was definitely not my intent and I definitely learned a valuable lesson through this all and will make sure I'm better moving forward and do the things that help this community the most."
Gunnarsson removed the Instagram post Saturday after several social media posts questioned why a non-Indigenous artist would design such a mask.
"Immediately thoughts of cultural appropriation come up," Robert Philips, a First Nations Summit political executive, told CTV News. "When we see the mask, although looking brilliant, one of the first questions you ask is 'who made it?'"
Holtby, who is entering his first season with the Canucks after signing a two-year, $8.6 million contract Oct. 9, said he will not use the original mask this season.
"The goal was and still is to include Indigenous artist and try and pick their brain to see how they would design a mask to best represent the history and culture around this area especially because it's so vast," he said.
Jay Soule, an Indigenous artist, told CTV News that Gunnarsson's removal of the social media post "was a step in the right direction," and said Holtby working with an Indigenous artist on the new design would be even more impactful.
"He clearly likes Indigenous art, that's why he has chosen that style of work. Definitely collaboration with an Indigenous artist would be huge," Soule said. "How great would that be for Indigenous people to be represented in an organization like the NHL."