5 | Lenape (Delaware) leader Lapowinsa with tattooed manitou motifs (forehead, mouth) and necklace, perhaps representing a series of conjoined birds, 1735. Art by Gustavus Heselius.
and experiences over the millennia, illustrating the continuation of deeply held beliefs that rely on tradition, which determined what tattoo designs could and could not be. North America is home to more than one thousand Indigenous communities, each with its own history, language, and cultural practices.
Around 1850, many of these communities still practiced tattooing, and I have spent the better part of seventeen years collecting information on the indelible custom and its associated practices. My journeys have taken me to museum collections and archives, university libraries, Native Alaskan villages, tribal reservations, and 10