Body Language reclaims Indigenous tattooing from colonial suppression

It’s an old photograph, dated 1881, but it reveals a lot about how much Indigenous culture was changed by colonization.
It shows four high-ranking Haida men. On the far right is Chief Xa’na. He’s not wearing regalia over his torso so you can see the grizzly bear tattoo on his chest. What’s remarkable is that the tattoo is a smaller version of the grizzly bear design on the totem pole beside him.
That made me stop in my tracks. For a moment, the photo created an image for