As Seen Through Indigenous Eyes and Heard Through Indigenous Voices: A Storytelling Project

Abstract

This project documents the traditional practice of chin tattooing in California, as seen through Indigenous eyes and told through Indigenous voices. As a descendant of two California tribes, the Juaneno Band of Mission Indians Acjachemen Nation and the Mutsun Ohlone tribes, I acknowledge that there is a lack of information on the subject from an Indigenous point of view. To remedy this, I have developed a web-based product which includes digital stories of tattooed California Indians and is a centralized location to access educational material on the practice of traditional tattooing in California, as well as California Indian history. I have conducted personal interviews with California Indians throughout the State to illustrate the range of this cultural tradition. I then edited ten of the oral stories, to include photos of these individuals, into digital storytelling videos that illustrate the traditional knowledge (TK) that is involved in earning the right to bear these distinguished tribal markings. TK methodologies, Indigenous methodologies, as well as decolonizing methodologies are employed to establish an educational product based on Indigenous place-based philosophy. Comparisons with other Indigenous communities that are revitalizing these traditional forms of identity are also highlighted. The practice of cultural tattooing is a practice that was common among most of, if not all the tribes in California prior to colonization (Rose 1979). The chin tattoo is an important marker of identity and coming of age within the Indigenous communities of California. The application of this indelible identity marker came with ceremony, song, ritual practices, Protocols , and responsibility as a wearer. During the multiple phases of colonization of California, whether it be Christianity, the Gold Rush, assimilation or any other period that affected California Indian culture, this practice was banned and nearly lost. Prior to it being banned, only sparse ethnographic information was collected on the topic of chin tattooing. The limited amount of ethnographic information and the fact that the Indigenous people passed information orally, make the revitalization effort difficult but not impossible. In response, this project has employed visual storytelling (digital storytelling) and combines traditional ways of passing knowledge with modern technology. Using this form of storytelling, along with the capabilities of social media, this visual storytelling project has the ability to educate thousands of people on the history and revival of this indelible marker of tribal identity. A visual narrative (also visual storytelling) is a story told primarily through the use of visual media. The story may be told using still photography, illustration, or video, and can be enhanced with graphics, music, voice and other audio. The return of passing information through oral means is a way to decolonize the process of ethnographic documentation, while simultaneously respecting Indigenous ways of passing knowledge. Through interviewing Indigenous women and men in California, we can learn more about the importance of this traditional practice across different Native communities of California. As a Native scholar and cultural practitioner, I was able to obtain interviews from the interviewee’s personal perspective and highlight the tattoo revitalization that is currently happening in Native California.