"My wife's family is of Abenaki and Mi'Kmaq descent, and I wanted to do something special to recognize and celebrate Native American Heritage Month," Fleury said of the design. "I was lucky enough to work with Native artist Patrick Hunter on a special-edition mask, and I love his design, especially the inclusion of the flowers and feathers."said of the design. "I was lucky enough to work with Native artist Patrick Hunter on a special-edition mask, and I love his design, especially the inclusion of the flowers and feathers."
"We just wanted to have something that was understandable to a bunch of different indigenous cultures, not just the ones that are around Chicago," Hunter explained. "There's some commonality in indigenous iconography and those kind of flowers would have been put onto moccasins or beaded onto clothing and other things. They're recognizable from a bunch of different indigenous cultures (that) traditionally would've traded a lot together being around the Great Lakes."
"It worked out perfectly that [the Blackhawks] acquired Marc-Andre Fleury, whose last name is [derived from] 'flower' in French," Hunter added of the flowers.
"As I learned more about the many meanings behind it, I was especially drawn to the seven feathers representing the seven grandfather teachings and how they relate to growing as a person and a player," Fleury said. "I look forward to wearing it proudly on the ice."
