Season 2

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy is a matrilineal society consisting of five founding Nations who later adopted a sixth nation to join their family.

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Stephanie Big Eagle grew up astray from her identity. She reconnected with her culture when she rekindled relationships in her home community, the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota.

Mo Naga is a traditional tattoo artist from Manipur, in the lush North East Region of India on the Myanmar border. While studying fashion design in his early 20s, Mo Naga stumbled across some interesting Naga textile designs and quickly realized their cultural importance.

The Paiwan people are one of about 20 Indigenous minorities who make up roughly 3% of the population of Taiwan. When Cudjuy Patjidres discovered that his Paiwanese ancestors had a tattoo culture, he was surprised and amazed.

Métis artist Audie Murray sees tattooing as a way for people to connect with their culture and communities when they are away from home. Audie’s art and tattoo practice draw from the duality in her life, especially her experience growing up in Regina and Lebret, and then moving to Vancouver to pursue her art career.

Isaac Murdoch and Christi Belcourt founded the Onaman Collective, which represents a group of multidisciplinary artists who focus on land-based decolonization.

Julie Paama-Pengelly is a veteran in the revitalization of tā moko Māori tattooing. Her studio in Mount Maunganui mixes contemporary and traditional designs and cultivates artists from all walks of life.

Pip Hartley is on a mission to infuse Auckland’s city core with as much Māori culture as possible. From her Karanaga Ink studio, she practices traditional and contemporary Māori tattooing, tā moko.

Northern Canada is home to the oldest tattooing traditions on the planet. Ippiksaut Friesen, a well-known young Inuk artist, was inspired to follow the many Inuit women before her and develop tattooing skills for her sisters.

In the 1950s, warriors from the Dutch-controlled Maluku islands who were fighting alongside Dutch soldiers against the Indonesians were brought back to the Netherlands by force.

When Haida artist Kwiaahwah Jones picked up the needle and traditional Haida tattoo practices that were once outlawed, she inspired a whole new generation to embrace their Haida culture and make it their own.

Manel Mahdouani is a tattoo artist living in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. As a descendent of the Amazigh people native to North Africa, Manel specializes in Amazigh tattoos.

Two Ravens is an Opata tattoo artist based in East Los Angeles. As an activist, he was injured at Standing Rock while defending land rights in North Dakota.