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Truly Tribal

Truly Tribal

Contemporary Indigenous Tattooing

Nineteen Indigenous ancestral skin markers from fifteen Nations and cultures around the world discuss their reclamation of traditional tattooing practices.

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About the book

After generations of colonial suppression, Indigenous tattooing practices have experienced a resurgence led by artists and informed by community stories, protocols, and Elders. In Truly Tribal, nineteen Indigenous ancestral skin markers from fifteen Nations and cultures around the world come together to discuss their reclamation of tattoos as tangible reminders of their communities’ enduring rights, relationships, and responsibilities.

Alongside stunning photos of their work, practitioners within this anthology discuss restoring a tradition that has survived colonial erasure, including the revival of ancestral tattoo designs, symbols, and motifs; the re-envisioning of meaning and protocols; and the refashioning of ancestral application methods, such as the use of bone tools and pigments alongside contemporary tools and inks. Their expert academic analysis and heartfelt storytelling respond with authenticity to a global awakening of cultural mark-making practices, offering teachings that can be shared while acknowledging that some ancestral inheritances are not for public consumption. This beautiful anthology embodies the phrase, “about us, from us, for us.”

With contributions from: Missy Dunn-Mahan, Julia Mageʼau Gray, Donita Vatuinaruku Hulme, Dion Kaszas, Yasbelle Kerkow, Terje Koloamatangi, Mel Lefebvre, Nolan Malbeuf, Jerrid Lee Miller, Jacqueline Merritt, Sheri Osden Nault, Julie Paama-Pengelly, Natalia Roxas, Nathalie Standingcloud, Gordon Sparks, Anne Spice, Dulcie Stewart, Nakkita Trimble, and Nahaan.

History Indigenous Resistance & Decolonization Sociology

What people are saying

Dr. Sharon Fortney, Klahoose First Nation, Sr. Curator of Indigenous Collections, Engagement and Repatriation at the Museum of Vancouver
“The stories shared in Truly Tribal are contemporary and personal, yet united in situating tattooing as part of ongoing efforts to reclaim a larger web of traditional knowledge in the ongoing wake of colonialism. Although tattoos are organic and temporary, linked to the lifespan of the individual that wears them, the knowledge surrounding their creation is holistic and dispersed. This inspiring publication, authored by Indigenous creators, is a significant contribution to our understanding of how contemporary Indigeneity is being expressed.”

Author

Dion Kaszas

Dion Kaszas is a Nlaka'pamux ancestral skin marker and born-again Coyote. He has been at the forefront of Indigenous tattooing in Canada since 2012. Within this role, he trains and mentors the next wave of revivalists. He has curated two major exhibitions highlighting Indigenous ancestral skin markers and their ancestral practices, including Body Language: Reawakening Cultural Tattooing of the Northwest, at the Bill Reid Gallery, and True Tribal: Contemporary Expressions of Ancestral Tattoo Practices, at the Museum of Vancouver. In 2024, he launched the Transformative Marks podcast, which journeys through the world of Indigenous tattooing, amplifying the voices of ancestral skin markers, Indigenous tattoo artists, and cultural tattoo practitioners. In 2019, he began developing Nlaka'pamux Blackwork, a contemporary customary practice rooted in his ancestors' visual language and his understanding of ceremonies that celebrate and enhance the lives of all human beings. Dion's ancestors marked their skin for a multitude of reasons, each a spiritual act intended to guide and influence the wearer's life path. These reasons included coming-of-age ceremonies, marking spiritual quests, and beautifying themselves. Today, he tattoos so the coming generations have a living, vibrant tattooing tradition informed by their ancestors' teachings, methods, and imagery.

Chapter 1: Introduction: Coyote Juggles His Eyes (Dion Kaszas)
Chapter 2: Indigenous Visibility: Post-Colonial Illusions (Nakkita Trimble)
Chapter 3: A Visual Language: Poapoa-Skin Marking in Mekeo, Central Province, Papua New Guinea (Julia Mageʼau Gray)
Chapter 4: Cherokee Tattoos: Medicine for the Marked (Jerrid Lee Miller and Nathalie Standingcloud)
Chapter 5: He Kākano Ahau I Ruia Mai I Rangiātea: I Am a Seed Which Was Sewn in the Heavens of Rangiātea (Julie Paama-Pengelly)
Chapter 6: Na Veiqia Meu Talanoa: Indigenous Skin Marking for Indigenous Fijian Women and Its Resurgence with The Veiqia Project (Dulcie Stewart, Yasbelle Kerkow and Donita Vatuinaruku Hulme)
Chapter 7: Embodied Fonua: Reconstructing Tātatau (Customary Tongan Tattooing) in Aotearoa (Terje Koloamatangi)
Chapter 8: 7Estez (Jacqueline Merritt)
Chapter 9: Gathering Pieces of Coyote and Breathing Life into Nlaka’pamux Skin Marking (Dion Kaszas)
Chapter 10: Ancestral Skin Marking as Healing and (re)Connection for Indigenous 2SLGBTQIA++ (Mel Lefebvre)
Chapter 11: Tattooing in Caring Relationship to One Another and the Land (Sheri Osden Nault)
Chapter 12: Pre-Philippine Living Traditions and the Filipino Diaspora (Natalia Roxas)
Chapter 13: Tracing Ancestral Lines of Responsibility and Connection (Anne Spice)
Chapter 14: Emerging from the Tides: My Community and I (Nahaan)
Chapter 15: Reclaiming Tohono O’ Odham and Yuchi Ancestral Tattoo Practices (Missy Dunn-Mahan)
Chapter 16: Learning the Visual Language of the Land: Mi’kmaw Blackwork (Gordon Sparks)
Chapter 17: Wahkohtowin: Building Connections across Time for Those That Are Coming (Nolan Malbeuf)