The significance of Indigenous facial tattoos
With Indigenous facial tattoos becoming more popular in the mainstream, it is important to know about their history and significance within their respective communities.
Facial tattoos have existed for thousands of years and hold important roots within Indigenous communities. The meanings and specific traditions vary across Indigenous cultures, but all represent a connection to Mother Earth. Kakiniit is the name for the practice of traditional tattoos in Inuit culture, with tuniit referring specifically to facial tattoos. These tattoos are most common among Inuit women and are done exclusively by women on other women.
The practice in Inuit culture comes from the legend of the sea goddess, Sedna, and is done for various purposes. Each tattoo’s symbolism is unique and holds special meaning for each woman: a representation of entering womanhood, sharing about her family, her achievements, her place in the community, and ensuring that she goes to a place of goodness and happiness in the afterlife.
However, the practice of tuniit decreased when European colonizers and Christian missionaries in the 1700s claimed tattoos were evil and banned women from receiving them. This ban, as well as further genocidal acts to get rid of Indigenous culture, resulted in tuniit becoming a taboo subject and a marker of shame among those who had them. Many did not want to discuss them with younger generations, resulting in much of this knowledge not being shared or passed down. The practice almost disappeared following the passing of the last generation of women who had these markings.
There has been a sort of contemporary revival of Inuit facial tattoos in recent years. As a way of preserving the tradition, many Inuit women have begun getting facial tattoos again. This resurgence has become a way of teaching and normalizing the image of tattoos on Inuit women for younger generations, as well as challenging colonial taboos.
Many public figures have also begun receiving traditional tattoos. Influencer Shina Nova got her first face tattoos in 2020 and shared on TikTok about the history of their demonization by colonizers and their importance to her as an Inuit woman. Quannah Chasinghorse, a Sicangu Lakota and Hän Gwich’in supermodel, was the first Indigenous model to walk for Chanel and attend the Met Gala in 2021, bringing her traditional face tattoos into mainstream media. And Mumilaqq Qaqqaq made news when she was elected in 2019 as a Nunavut Member of Parliament with facial tattoos.
The Inuit Tattoo Revitalization Project is a newer project founded by Hovak Johnson, which works towards the goal of bringing back and further normalizing this tradition. The project raises money and travels across Northern Canada to give women the opportunity to receive these tattoos just as their ancestors did.
As a result of increasing education, awareness, and activism, perspectives on Indigenous facial tattoos are beginning to change. Cora DeVos, the photographer for the Revitalization Project, explained that when the project began, there were only a few women who had tattoos for them to photograph, whereas now there are hundreds of Inuit women in Canada who wear them proudly.
