A great article by Caroline Cox of the CBC focusing on the Inuit Tattoo Revival!
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‘It makes me feel like my grandmother is beside me, staying close to me…’
Mary Kudlak just got her first kakiniit, or Inuit tattoo, and she did it at the age of 74. It’s clear that both the tattoo and the process hold great value to her. So why is this only happening now?
The tradition of kakiniit in Inuit culture all but disappeared in the past few decades. The tattoos on various parts of the body, including the face, represent family, culture and community, and the practice was erased by the effects of colonialism. Artist — and tattoo artist — Hovak Johnston was devastated when she first heard that the custom was about to literally die out with the passing of the last woman with traditional tattoos. She says, “I was so heartbroken. I was like, ‘This is the last woman, last Inuk woman to have tattoos, passing away. It’s going to be another part of our history that’s going to be lost, or something that we only learn about in history books. It can’t happen. We need to do something about it.'”
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For the full article, click here!