i think itâs very cool that people draw kardala with traditional Inuit facial tattoos, but i am also deeply amused by some of the tattoos that get chosen. like, modern tattooing traditions have changed and gotten a lot more personal in their meaning, but some are pretty established.
i just want yâall to know that when you put two Vs on her forehead youâre saying both her parents are dead? this is cool. head canon the fuck out of that. but, uh, i feel like this probably isnât in the back of peopleâs minds when they do the thing.
Hereâs a really good article on their history and importance as well as modern efforts to restore their place culturallyÂ
This is one about itâs resurgence in AlaskaÂ
actually I'ma reblog this again because I was searching the internets looking for useful sources for fan artist and writers but finding sources that would be helpful(and arenât kinda mmmmm questionable) has been very difficult. So if anybody has some rad sources A) I am very interested in them personally, and B) itâd be very useful for the fandom as a whole! I'ma keep scouring the internet/books and Iâll keep you guys posted <3
The Encyclopedia of Body Adornment, page 162
Keep reading
To everyone hitting me up for more information about tattoos, @almostvivian is doing some good good research work here. I will say that finding online sources for this stuff? Definitely hard, but theyâre out there. Iâve posted a bit about how to start doing research for Kardala. (Sup yâall? Iâm Cree and I very literally do Indigenous-centered research for a living, as well as study how to help people do Indigenous research better. My work is focused on residential schools and my, like, academic life on media representation.)
So! Some things I would add to these resources. Obviously, modern tattooing traditions are generally very personal. Also like, my knowledge comes from a friend from Labrador, so her traditional tattooing knowledge is not necessarily the same as someone from Nunavut or Alaska.
If you can get your hands on it, one of the best sources on traditional tattoos and their revival is Tunniit: Retracing the Lines of Inuit Tattoos. More generally, and almostvivian has done this, be skeptical of sources written by/based on work done by old, white anthropologists. Itâs biased as hell yâall, and I can tell you for a fact that my ancestors werenât telling anyone who can and hung out with us for a bit and wanted to write all our knowledge down everything, especially personal stuff like âSo what exactly does that tattoo mean?â especially when they were simultaneously going: âAlso, stop that. Itâs a sin and you look bad.â
Here is a larger post I made on how to research Kardala well.
Here is another recent post I made on how sheâs portrayed in Episode 2 and how that plays into/differs from common Indigenous stereotypes.
















