In 2005, when Hovak Johnston heard that the last Inuk woman tattooed in the traditional way had died, she set out to tattoo herself and learn how to tattoo others.
What was at first a personal quest became a project to bring the art of traditional tattooing back to Inuit women across Nunavut, starting in the community of Kugluktuk.
With the rise of missionaries and residential schools in the North, the tradition of tattooing was almost lost. Now, there are HUNDREDS of Inuit women with traditional tattoos.
( photo taken from Inuit Tattoo Revitalization Project page)
