i think it’s very cool that people draw kardala with traditional Inuit facial tattoos, but i am also deeply amused by some of the tattoos that get chosen. like, modern tattooing traditions have changed and gotten a lot more personal in their meaning, but some are pretty established.
i just want y’all to know that when you put two Vs on her forehead you’re saying both her parents are dead? this is cool. head canon the fuck out of that. but, uh, i feel like this probably isn’t in the back of people’s minds when they do the thing.
actually I’ma reblog this again because I was searching the internets looking for useful sources for fan artist and writers but finding sources that would be helpful(and aren’t kinda mmmmm questionable) has been very difficult.
So if anybody has some rad sources A) I am very interested in them personally, and B) it’d be very useful for the fandom as a whole! I’ma keep scouring the internet/books and I’ll keep you guys posted ❤
To everyone hitting me up for more information about tattoos, @almostvivian is doing some good good research work here. I will say that finding online sources for this stuff? Definitely hard, but they’re out there. I’ve posted a bit about how to start doing research for Kardala. (Sup y’all? I’m Cree and I very literally do Indigenous-centered research for a living, as well as study how to help people do Indigenous research better. My work is focused on residential schools and my, like, academic life on media representation.)
So! Some things I would add to these resources. Obviously, modern tattooing traditions are generally very personal. Also like, my knowledge comes from a friend from Labrador, so her traditional tattooing knowledge is not necessarily the same as someone from Nunavut or Alaska.
If you can get your hands on it, one of the best sources on traditional tattoos and their revival is Tunniit: Retracing the Lines of Inuit Tattoos. More generally, and almostvivian has done this, be skeptical of sources written by/based on work done by old, white anthropologists. It’s biased as hell y’all, and I can tell you for a fact that my ancestors weren’t telling anyone who can and hung out with us for a bit and wanted to write all our knowledge down everything, especially personal stuff like “So what exactly does that tattoo mean?” especially when they were simultaneously going: “Also, stop that. It’s a sin and you look bad.”
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