True Tribal

True Tribal: Contemporary Expressions of Ancestral Tattoo Practices explores 30-plus years of Indigenous tattooing from around the world and the artists who are reconnecting with traditional skin marking practices. The revival of ancestral tattoo designs and motifs, the re-envisioning of meaning and protocols, and the re-fashioning of ancestral application methods is part of Indigenous peoples’ efforts to reclaim their lands, cultures and identities.

Tattoo artists Tristen Jenni Sanderson (Woodland and Plains Cree), Terje Koloamatangi (Tongan), Nolan Malbeuf (Métis), Mo-Naga (Uipo Naga), Julie Paama-Pengelly (Māori), Gordon Sparks (Mi’kmaq), Nathalie Standingcloud (Cherokee) and Dion Kaszas (Nlaka’pamux) use contemporary technologies to build upon ancestral design conventions as seen on ancestral belongings. Their work gives power back to Indigenous people to think through and theorize their own world and life views while taking away the colonial tools that separated them from the visual language of skin markings.