Tattooing by Cree Indians
Barrie Abbott
Searching through the online list at the Vancouver Public Library
recently, I found Tattooing Practices of the Cree Indians by Douglas
Light (Occasional Paper No. 6, 1972, Glenbow-Alberta Museum,
Calgary, Alberta). It gives a glimpse, vis a vis tattooing, into the life of
natives of the Canadian prairies (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba)
that is all but gone.
I don't know if this book is still in print, but if you are interested
in buying it, contact the Glenbow-Alberta Museum, or see if your local
library can find it for you. I have yet to see if the Glenbow has a web
page, but it will be a good one, if they do.
The author consulted mostly with a native tattooist, Solomon
Bluehorn and also quotes from a number of academic studies and
explorers' journals. He includes a bibliography for further study. The
illustrations are interesting, though obviously suffer from translation
from skin to paper by people with varying levels of artistic skill.
Best Quote
The best quote in the book and the best reason to be tattooed:
"When you are tattooed, you will be all dressed up. At a dance all
you will have to do is take off your robe." Fine Day, Plains Cree, quoted
by David Mandelbaum in The Plains Cree.
Why Get Tattooed?
"When a person was sick or had received a favor from a spirit
helper he might go to a tattooing bundle owner and ask to be tattooed"
Solomon Bluehorn, Cree tattooist.
"Men are tattooed entirely after having struck their first enemy"
from Indian Tribes of the Upper Missouri by Edwin Denig.
"Because they dreamed they should be, others because their wives
urged them to do so and show their bravery." from Notes on the Eastern
Cree and Northern Salteaux by Alanson Skinner.
How the Tattoos Were Done:
"The lines on the face are formed by dexterously running an awl
under the [skin] and then drawing a cord, dipped in charcoal and water,
through the canal thus formed." from Narrative of a Journey to the
Shores of the Polar Sear, in the years 1819, 20, 21 & 22 by John Franklin.
"by charring birch bark or wood and rubbing it on a thread which
was fastened to a needle and the design sewed under the skin, the
pigment making it permanent." from Notes on the Eastern Cree and
Northern Salteaux by Alanson Skinner.
Women's Designs
Generally, they consisted of solid lines and lines of dots from lip
to chin, sometimes forming triangles, sometimes parallel lines.
"Women might have small circles on each temple to ward off
severe headaches which, if not checked, might cause them to become
Weetigos, or cannibal spirits . . . a few old women who were proficient
with medicines and had received supernatural help during a Thirst Dance
. . . sometimes had Thunderbirds tattooed on their cheeks." Solomon
Bluehorn, Cree tattooist.
Men's Designs
"breasts, backs, hands, arms and faces are marked with a variety of
figures, some resembling birds, other beasts, and fisher; while others
have borders, flourishes or plain lines according to their fancies." from
Andrew Braham's Observations on Hudson's Bay 1767-91.
"figures of birds, quadrupeds or symbols of different kinds" from
Narrative of the Canadian Red River Exploring Expedition of 1857 and
the Assiniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition of 1858 by
Henry Hind.
"Men might have their arms and chests marked . . . A common
tattoo pattern for men consisted of two parallel lines extending from the
under side of the chin to the middle of the chest at a level with the
nipples. Two other parallel lines extended from points below the nipples
to the level of the navel. The arms were marked by a series of horizontal
lines." from The Plains Cree by David Mandelbaum.
"straight lines, buffalo heads, the spirit known as the Buffalo that
Walks like a Man, thunderbirds, Skeleton Men (pakakoos), bears, suns,
stars and horse tracks" Solomon Bluehorn.
Cost
Generally a horse for each day's work unless the man "dreamed
that he must be tattooed, in which case the work was done free of
charge." Four Clouds quoted in Notes on the Eastern Cree and
Northern Salteaux by Alanson Skinner.
Who Were the Artists?
"A man who has a dream which gives him the power to do the
tattooing although he may delegate the actual operation to someone who
knows how to do it well" Fine Day, Plains Cree, quoted by David
Mandelbaum in The Plains Cree.
"Not everyone had the right to perform the tattooing ritual, for
the power had to be given in a dream. Such a shaman would become the
owner of a tattooing bundle, containing the articles needed for the
ceremony." Solomon Bluehorn. His tattoo bundle was traced back to
Kahneeokeesikopanis (Four Sky Thunder), described by Light as a
nomadic warrior, with White Bear's Saulteaux band, Cowesses, another
Saulteaux band, a Piapot Band of mixed Cree, Saulteaux and Assiniboine
and Big Bear's Cree. In 1885, he was involved in the Frog Lake Massacre
and spent six years in prison for burning down a Roman Catholic
Church at Frog Lake. He spent his last years with the Poundmaker band.
The next owner of the bundle was Muskwa (Bear), a Battle River Cree.
He ". . . had been a famous warrior and was well acquainted with the old
life . . . his shamanistic capabilities were renowned" (David Mandelbaum
in The Plains Cree). Muskwa died in 1948 and his son transferred the
bundle to Solomon Seepekwaskun (Bluehorn). "When Bluehorn was
about 35 years of age, his wife died and he began to roam, never having a
permanent home until the day he died." (Douglas Light in Tattooing
Practices of the Cree Indians). Bluehorn transferred the bag to Douglas
Light in 1953 in a ceremony at a sacred area near the Battle River on the
Little Pine reserve.
If anyone else has books they could recommend or reviews they
want to post, I would be most interested in seeing them.
thanks
bod...@urbanprimitive.com
Barrie Abbott wrote:
>
> Searching through the online list at the Vancouver Public Library
> recently, I found Tattooing Practices of the Cree Indians by Douglas
> Light (Occasional Paper No. 6, 1972, Glenbow-Alberta Museum,
> Calgary, Alberta).
Well, if that synchronicity playing havok with my life again....
We were just doing some cleaning around the studio and what should we find, but a
copy of this fine tome!
I do reccomend it as fine reading as well!
Sparrow
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