Truly Tribal: Contemporary Indigenous Tattooing - Hardcover

by Dion Kaszas (Editor)

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, eighteen Indigenous ancestral skin markers from 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 over 250 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, and Nahaan.

Author Biography

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.