I see a lot of people getting mad at the people who get tattoos of things that would be considered cultural appropriation, however, I don’t see people getting upset with the people who actually tattoo them on others.

Why is this? 

In ways tattoo artists are also promoting cultural appropriation because they are personally tattooing the person. They could say no because it’s disrespectful but they also don’t. They draw these pictures and promote these pictures. If you look up tags like ink or tattoos you can see drawings and tattoos of cultural appropriation. I mean even traditional symbols used by some ethnic groups have become popular as tattoos. 

Then a whole new door is opened when looking at who should be tattooing cultural symbols. A lot of ethnic groups have specific people you’re supposed to go to for these tattoos and they are often done with a ceremony/ritual. Now anyone can walk into a tattoo parlour and receive a tattoo of a Maori or Cherokee symbol they found on the internet.

On the flip side what happens if the traditional people to go to for traditional tattoos no longer exist? Then who do you go to?

I know when I got the two tattoos on my back (which are traditional symbols) I made the tattoo artist throw away the sketch and I don’t allow anyone to take pictures of them. This is something I believe in. This is something I made sure the tattoo artist understood. 

Today tattoos of Native or Indigenous symbols are considered trendy. How can we protect our symbols and languages from being appropriated through tattoos? It’s one thing to get something that represents Native/Indigenous people but then I think a bigger issue is having those people misusing our traditional symbols and languages. I know a certain someone on here has an entire facebook album of people who have gotten tattoos in Cherokee but the words were all wrong. This may be hilarious to some people who understand the languages but it’s also pretty disrespectful for them to be getting that tattoo in the first place.

What are your opinions on this issue?

39 notes
Tagged as: aboriginal, american indian, first nations, indigenous, ink, inuit, native american, ndn, tattoos, culture,

1. aithlyn answered: I can’t answer this in 140 characters. LOL But the bottom line is that every person has the right to tattoo whatever they want on themselves.
2. inkwelljules answered: People will always borrow symbols and use them for personal meaning. Get over it. It isn’t a new thing. And symbols shouldn’t be so sacred.
3. erinmar13 answered: I think you have no idea what the words “cultural appropriation” actually mean, and I’m disgusted that people actually come to you for advice
4. witchyways reblogged this from vampirefruitfly
5. vampirefruitfly reblogged this from kahs2012
6. angrybrownbaby reblogged this from niibish-tart and added:

   For these reasons I’m of the mentality to keep things as private as possible. I am sick of our cultures being exploited,...

7. andyouknowit reblogged this from custerdiedforyoursins
8. serifedlife reblogged this from custerdiedforyoursins and added:

   someone who has two tattoos

9. milolikessnails liked this
10. ladypieces liked this
11. neetainari liked this
12. 1radicaldreamer liked this
13. multipletrees liked this
14. lostmymojo liked this
15. myflagisblackandred liked this
16. shannonnagig liked this
17. weetz reblogged this from ihavethisblog and added:

    BOLDED FOR NATIVES BEING FUCKING AWESOME

18. moosedeevita liked this
19. queerer liked this
20. custerdiedforyoursins reblogged this from niibish-tart
21. apihtawikosisan liked this
22. niibish-tart reblogged this from kahs2012 and added:

    I’ll be perfectly honest:...conversations with...(usually...

23. niibish-tart liked this
24. tealyoo liked this
25. selchieproductions liked this
26. mesotheliomata liked this
27. apihtawikosisan said: If it isn’t restricted (chinese characters, words in cyrillic, etc) then it might be naive, but it’s not necessarily cultural appropriation.
28. scar-lip reblogged this from kahs2012 and added:

    someone’s skin.

29. apihtawikosisan answered: My take on it is this. If it is restricted within the culture, it’s cultural appropriation to do it or get it done.
30. littleojibwe reblogged this from kahs2012 and added:

    context. Even when I was talking...my artist about adding

31. serenaiam reblogged this from kahs2012
32. arrdeejayy liked this
33. kahs2012 posted this