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For thousands of years, Inuit women practised the traditional art of tattooing. This book shares moving photos and stories from women are reawakening the tradition and sharing this knowledge with future generations.
About the author
Hovak Johnston is an Inuk woman who was raised on the land in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut until she was sent away to school. Using her Inuinnaqtun name given to her at birth is her way of carrying on a past relative's name and the characteristics of that ancestor. Hovak has a deep connection to her culture and traditional arts and skills. Now living in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Hovak does some type of traditional artwork every day, from sewing, soapstone carving, jewellery making, tanning hides, and fleshing and preparing skins to her latest type of art, tattooing.
Summary
For thousands of years, Inuit women practised the traditional art of tattooing. Created with bone needles and caribou sinew soaked in seal oil or soot, these tattoos were an important tradition for many women, symbols stitched in their skin that connected them to their families and communities.
But with the rise of missionaries and residential schools in the North, the tradition of tattooing was almost lost. In 2005, when Angela Hovak Johnston heard that the last Inuk woman tattooed in the traditional way had died, she set out to tattoo herself and learn how to tattoo others. What was at first a personal quest became a project to bring the art of traditional tattooing back to Inuit women across Nunavut, starting in the community of Kugluktuk.
Collected in this beautiful book are moving photos and stories from more than two dozen women who participated in Johnston’s project. Together, these women are reawakening their ancestors’ lines and sharing this knowledge with future generations.
Additional text
“While Johnston’s efforts have been to revitalize the practice, she has also looked to modernize it, encouraging women to find new meaning in the lines they choose for their face, arms and hands.”—Nunatsiaq News
