"Several women who have received their traditional tattoos have cited Yaari Walker as a woman who paved the way for them. Walker, originally from Savoonga on Saint Lawrence Island, had her chin tattooed at a tattoo parlor in Anchorage over 10 years ago. ""My mother's mother had both cheeks, her chin—she also had 11 stripes, that's why I chose to do 11, because of my grandma. She had two lines going down her nose and her hands and her arms. So, I knew that eventually that I wanted to do tattoos,"" Walker says.  When women praise her for having paved the way for them, she says it just makes her think of her ancestors. ""I think about the ancestors. This idea came from them. It was their invention. It wasn't me. This tradition didn't come from me. So the ancestors are who I think about when people say that,"" she says. But she recognizes that now this movement has an evolved significance as a revitalization. ""This is a part of decolonization. This generation is the one putting its foot down and saying hey, we want our traditions back. What was once shamed is now coming back to life very beautifully and very strong."""
A person with tattoos on their arms stands in front of a body of water with trees in the background under a cloudy sky.
A person with tattoos on their arms stands in front of a body of water with trees in the background under a cloudy sky.