Tattooing Showcased at Eiteljorg Museum Exhibit
Tattooing, a powerful form of Native self-expression and identity, endured years of colonial suppression. Eiteljorg Museum’s upcoming exhibit, “re-Mark-able Perseverance: Tattoos,” celebrates tattooing and a return to a tradition that was once discouraged.
The exhibit explores the tools and practices behind tattooing, from ancestral traditions to modern techniques.
Ten artists are spotlighted within the exhibit: Corey Bulpitt, Haida; Antonio Chee, Dine/Navajo; Nipinet Landsem, Manitoba Metis Federation and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa; Missy Mahan, Tohono O’odham-Yuchi Nation; David Martin, Pokagon Band of Potawatomi; Antonio Mejia, Rarámuri/Chicano; Citlamina Mejia, Maya/Rarámuri; Xiucoatl Mejia, Maya/Rarámuri; Caitlin Newago, Bad River Ojibwe; Sarah Ayaqi Whalen-Lunn, Inupiaq-Inuit.
Visitors to the exhibit can learn how tattooing practices vary between Indigenous communities and hear stories of Native people reclaiming and reconnecting with tattooing “as an expression of identity, spirituality, community and cultural resilience.”
“re-Mark-able Perseverance: Tattoos” opens on Saturday, Nov. 14 at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis. Opening day includes an artist panel, live tattoo drum demonstration, and a chance for visitors to make their own tattoos with temporary tattoo markers. Learn more and see more events here.
