As Seen Through Indigenous Eyes and Heard Through Indigenous Voices: A Storytelling Project

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dc.contributor.advisorShepard, Michael
dc.contributor.advisorGerhart, Heather
dc.contributor.advisorKrutak, Lars
dc.contributor.authorLucero, Heidi
dc.contributor.programMA in Cultural Sustainabilityen_US
dc.date.accessioned2019-12-19T01:31:00Z
dc.date.available2019-12-19T01:31:00Z
dc.date.issued2019-12-17
dc.descriptionThis project documents the traditional practice of chin tattooing in California, as seen through Indigenous eyes and told through Indigenous voices. As a descendant of two California tribes, the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians Acjachemen Nation and the Mutsun Ohlone tribes, I acknowledge that there is a lack of information on the subject from an Indigenous point of view. To remedy this, I have developed a web-based product which includes digital stories of tattooed California Indians and is a centralized location to access educational material on the practice of traditional tattooing in California, as well as California Indian history. I have conducted personal interviews with California Indians throughout the State to illustrate the range of this cultural tradition. I then edited ten of the oral stories, to include photos of these individuals, into digital storytelling videos that illustrate the traditional knowledge (TK) that is involved in earning the right to bear these distinguished tribal markings. TK methodologies, Indigenous methodologies, as well as decolonizing methodologies are employed to establish an educational product based on Indigenous place-based philosophy. Comparisons with other Indigenous communities that are revitalizing these traditional forms of identity are also highlighted. The practice of cultural tattooing is a practice that was common among most of, if not all the tribes in California prior to colonization (Rose 1979). The chin tattoo is an important marker of identity and coming of age within the Indigenous communities of California. The application of this indelible identity marker came with ceremony, song, ritual practices, Protocols , and responsibility as a wearer. During the multiple phases of colonization of California, whether it be Christianity, the Gold Rush, assimilation or any other period that affected California Indian culture, this practice was banned and nearly lost. Prior to it being banned, only sparse ethnographic information was collected on the topic of chin tattooing. The limited amount of ethnographic information and the fact that the Indigenous people passed information orally, make the revitalization effort difficult but not impossible. In response, this project has employed visual storytelling (digital storytelling) and combines traditional ways of passing knowledge with modern technology. Using this form of storytelling, along with the capabilities of social media, this visual storytelling project has the ability to educate thousands of people on the history and revival of this indelible marker of tribal identity. A visual narrative (also visual storytelling) is a story told primarily through the use of visual media. The story may be told using still photography, illustration, or video, and can be enhanced with graphics, music, voice and other audio. The return of passing information through oral means is a way to decolonize the process of ethnographic documentation, while simultaneously respecting Indigenous ways of passing knowledge. Through interviewing Indigenous women and men in California, we can learn more about the importance of this traditional practice across different Native communities of California. As a Native scholar and cultural practitioner, I was able to obtain interviews from the interviewee’s personal perspective and highlight the tattoo revitalization that is currently happening in Native California.en_US
dc.description.abstractThe purpose for this capstone project is to produce a web-based product which illustrates the intersection of story and tattooed forms of identity among Indigenous people in California. The title of this capstone project is, As Seen Through Indigenous Eyes and Heard Through Indigenous Voices: A Storytelling Project. This web-based product includes digital stories of tattooed individuals and is a place to access educational material on the practice, as well as California Indian history. My primary question is: Can an outward facing identity marker such as the traditional “111” tattoo be a foundation for educating the public and Native communities about political, social and historical issues facing Indigenous communities in California? This project will illuminate the stories of California Indians that currently have received their “111” tattoo or are considering receiving their “111”. Each story tells the personal journey of the individual in receiving their tattoo and discusses the impacts that have resulted after receiving their tattoo. These stories were edited into digital stories and are available on the California Indigenous Chin Tattooing website, to heighten awareness of the resurgence of this cultural tradition and the historical reasons it was lost. The website also features other Indigenous communities in the world where traditional tattooing practices have not been interrupted and where revitalization of lost tattoo practices are ongoing. In these communities, tattooing is valued as a marker of Indigenous identity. This project’s purpose is multi-layered. Socially it is filling a void in cultural knowledge about the traditional practice of chin tattooing in California. For myself, as a bearer of a traditional “111” chin tattoo, it has helped me to grow as an activist in the revitalization of unconventional traditional arts and culture such as the “111” chin tattoo. Personally, in my journey of receiving my chin tattoo, I was disowned by my family; they have not spoken to me since I received my chin tattoo. This poignant experience demonstrates the need to educate even our own community members regarding the significance and importance of this traditional practice. The deeply personal stories that I have recorded and the educational material that is presented through this project serve to create bonds and strengthen knowledge about California Indians across public audiences as well as the Native community.en_US
dc.description.urihttps://www.californiaindigenouschintattooing.comen_US
dc.format.extent61 pagesen_US
dc.genrecapstonesen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/m2xnvn-li7c
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/16912
dc.relation.isAvailableAtGoucher College, Baltimore, MD
dc.rightsThis work may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. To obtain information or permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Goucher Special Collections & Archives at 410-337-6347 or email archives@goucher.edu.
dc.subjecttattooingen_US
dc.subjectIndigenousen_US
dc.subjectCalifornia Indianen_US
dc.subject111 chin tattooen_US
dc.subjectIndigenous tattooingen_US
dc.subjectcultural tattooingen_US
dc.subjecttraditional knowledgeen_US
dc.subjectdecolonizeen_US
dc.subjectdecolonizing methodologiesen_US
dc.subjectIndigenous methodologiesen_US
dc.subject.lcshCultural sustainability -- Capstone (Graduate)
dc.titleAs Seen Through Indigenous Eyes and Heard Through Indigenous Voices: A Storytelling Projecten_US
dc.title.alternativeCalifornia Indigenous Chin Tattooingen_US
dc.typeCollectionen_US

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