Ashley Cummings smiles through the rhythmic pricks of a needle against her chin.
“Hurts a little bit, but not too bad,” she says once the work is done. “It’s worth it.”
Cummings, originally from Pangnirtung, Nunavut and now living in Whitehorse, received her traditional tattoo during the Kwanlin Traditional Tattoo Gathering, held at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre from May 9 to 12. The first event of its kind in Whitehorse, the gathering brought together four Indigenous tattoo artists and their apprentices for three days of cultural revitalization, storytelling, and artistry.
For Cummings, the experience is much more than skin-deep — it’s a profound act of reclamation.
“Inuit almost lost our tattoos entirely,” she reflects. “Now, there are some really stellar women that are being matriarchs and bringing it back to us.”
That spirit of cultural renewal resonated across the gathering, as artists and participants alike used traditional tattooing as a way to reconnect with ancestral knowledge and identity — and to forge community around shared histories and healing.
Holly Nordlum, an Inuk artist from Kotzebue, Alaska who now lives in Anchorage, was one of the tattooists at the event. A tattoo artist for over a decade, Nordlum emphasizes the emotional weight of the practice.
“There’s something powerful about poking the skin and talking about hard stuff,” she says.
Through the steady hum of needles and the quiet murmur of conversation, the gathering became a space not just for artistry, but for intergenerational healing and cultural strength — where pain gave way to pride, and tradition once nearly lost found vibrant new life.
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