Tunnittaarumajunga – I want to get face tattoos

My name is Alethea-Ann Aggiuq Arnaquq-Baril, and I’m from Iqaluit, Nunavut. I’m making a documentary film about my personal journey to research traditional Inuit tattoos before I get them.

In my dialect of Inuktitut:

“kakiniit” means “tattoos”

“tunniit” means “women’s face tattoos”

This coming August, I will be getting tunniit. I’ve been trying to research Inuit tattooing for years now, but there is very very little existing research about this topic, so it can be quite frustrating. I’ve done a few elder interviews over the last couple of years (in Rankin Inlet, Arviat and Clyde River), but I’m about to travel all over Nunavut in the next month and a half to interview as many elders as I can about traditional tattoos. It’s taken almost 4 years to get the funding together to go on this trip, and now I’m FINALLY ready to start traveling! I leave this week.

My first stop is IGLOOLIK!!! I’m so excited. After that, I plan to go to Pond Inlet, then I head west to Kugluktuk, Kuugaaruk, Taloyoak, and Gjoa Haven. I want to squeeze in a trip to Baker Lake as well, but I’m not sure if the flight schedules will allow me to do that. I’m also really hoping to go to Inuvik to meet two women who already have face tattoos, but I’m not sure if my budget and schedule will allow that either.

Wish me luck!

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