Yellowknife Inn



 Features

 Front Page
 News Desk
 News Briefs
 News Summaries
 Columnists
 Sports
 Editorial
 Arctic arts
 Readers comment
 Find a job
 Tenders
 Classifieds
 Subscriptions
 Market reports
 Handy Links
 Best of Bush
 Visitors guides
 Obituaries
 Feature Issues
 Advertising
 Contacts
 Today's weather
 Leave a message


SSISearch NNSL
 www.SSIMIcro.com

NNSL on CD

. NNSL Logo
SSIMicro

<A HREF="https://archive.nnsl.com/ads/ACHF11327-YellowKniferGIC.swf">[View using Helper Application]</a>

Home page text size buttonsbigger textsmall textText size Email this articleE-mail this page

Women embrace traditional tattoos

Gabriel Zarate
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009

IQALUIT - During the first week of August, five Inuit women received tattoos based on traditional designs on their faces and hands. They are among the few women to wear such traditional Inuit designs in years.

NNSL Photo/Graphic

From left, Aaju Peter, Angela Hovak Johnston and Alethea Aggiuq Arnaquq-Baril. Johnston's forehead's tattoo is new. The three lines across each cheek were done in 2008 and represent Johnston's three children. - Gabriel Zarate/NNSL photo

"The general public, even a lot of Inuit, don't know a lot about these tattoos at all," said Alethea Aggiuq Arnaquq-Baril.

Arnaquq-Baril conducted a research project, interviewing elders in nine communities to learn more about the ancient body art. She is making a documentary about the tattoos and the women who now wear them.

"It was very common for an elder to remember five to 20 women with tattoos," she said.

The last known Nunavummiuq with traditional tattoos that had been applied in her youth died in 2006 in Taloyoak. Arnaquq-Baril had scheduled an interview with her, but she died less than a month before the scheduled meeting.

Stacey Aglok MacDonald's inspiration for getting tattooed was Helen Kalvak, an artist from Ulukhaktok, then called Holman, whose body bore many tattoos acquired over a long life. MacDonald never met her, but Kalvak had been a dear friend of her mother's so MacDonald grew up hearing stories about her.

MacDonald based her new wrist tattoos on a photo of Kalvak and a drawing Kalvak had made of her own hands.

"She was my image of what a tattooed Inuk woman was," MacDonald said.

Angela Hovak Johnston was named for an elder with tattoos and she spent years trying to find a photo of her, without success. But growing up as a child in Kugluktuk, Johnston remembered seeing a tattooed elder. "She was so unique and beautiful. Her wrinkles and the tattoos, it is so unique," said Johnston.

Before getting the tattoos in Nova Scotia, Johnston spoke with many people in her community to find out how they would feel about her returning to Kugluktuk with tattooed face and hands. She said the community was supportive.

"The biggest comment I think I've had listening to elders is that it's bringing our ancestors back," she said.

Arnaquq-Baril's research found some people reacted poorly to the idea of traditional tattoos, thinking the designs were shamanistic and therefore evil. But her interviews with elders proved the tattoos were worn by non-shamans as well.

"We're not shamans," she said.

The women made arrangements to have Mike Austin, a tattoo artist who has visited Iqaluit many times in the past, do the work. He refused to take monetary payment for the work, instead accepting items in trade. For this current project, Austin is taking home a muskox skull. Arnaquq-Baril said she anticipates more Inuit women will become interested in the tattoos once they see them worn by other young people.

"I think there are so many Inuit women who have thought about this," she said.