| Summary: | The Canadian socio-political landscape is currently being transformed by the cultural resurgence movements of First Nations, Métis and Inuit. The practice of traditional tattooing is gaining importance as a component of this process of revitalization. A growing number of Aboriginal tattoo artists across Canada are working to revive the medium. This thesis examines the work of Dion Kaszas, Angela Hovak Johnston and Toby Sicks, in particular. As part of my exploration of their revitalizing projects, I examine, among other things, questions of transmission, cultural hybridity, and agency. Employing decolonizing methodologies, particularly insights from Lakota culture, I share the stories of several tattooed Indigenous people encountered during my re-search. Based on our conversations, I seek to explain the importance of the ancestral tattoo in the assertion of identity of contemporary Indigenous peoples. I show that both in urban areas and on reserves, the practice of tattooing facilitates collective and individual healing, in addition to contributing to the affirmation of Aboriginal identities and the empowerment of various nations. In addition, I discuss ways that contemporary Aboriginal tattooing contributes to current socio-political struggles. I show how the art of tattooing, a medium unduly neglected in art history, plays a major role in cultural resurgence movements of Indigenous peoples of Canada today. Cumulatively, the thesis invites the reader to reconsider the importance of contemporary Aboriginal tattoo art and the issues it raises. Le paysage sociopolitique canadien est, actuellement, transformé par les mouvements de résurgence culturelle de Premières nations, des Métis et des Inuits. Parmi les traditions revitalisées, la pratique du tatouage traditionnel gagne en importance. Un nombre croissant d’artistes-tatoueur.euse.s autochtones réparti.e.s à travers le Canada s’évertuent à revitaliser le médium. Ce mémoire s’intéresse, particulièrement, au travail de Dion Kaszas, de Toby Sicks et d’Angela ...
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