Tradional Tattoo?

[ProudNightWolf]

Just wanted to say thanks to all for the replies

[WhoMe]

I think if you are from an eastern tribe and truly want to do a traditional tattoo in a traditional way...


tatoo your face. This is traditional for many eastern tribes.

[FluteMaker]

i went back to the begining and re read some of the posts and saw this one. getting transfixed in dancing at a powwow is fine and all. alot of people feel that way.its an awsom means of self expession. but heres 5 ways to show that youre embracing the culture and herritage that will impress more people than a tattoo ever would.........


1. learn your geneology. find the who,what,when and how of how your family meets up with the cherokee people.even if they dont show up on the rolls,know who the people are and put it down on paper. that will show your next generations that you were here better than an old family snapshot of an obscure uncle with a tattoo

2. learn the true and accurate history of the cherokee people. how did they get to be who they are today.i dont mean the stuff some joker put up on the internet claiming that the cherokee are the remnants of people who fled atlantis when it was destroyed. i mean the true history you can only get from the people themselves.

3 take up a trade.there were several 'trades' that were intregal to tribal life. learn about traditional foods and customs.again...the real ones, not the crap on the leaning tree posters.dont just embrace the lifestyles, live the lifeways

4 communitee service. the eastern cherokee have their sources of revenue, but the money doesnt always go real far. help out some people doing some home repairs.find a way to directly help some people out. you dont have to give cash, sometimes giving of yourself and you time can make more of an impact on someones life than any amount of money.

and 5 learn the language. in most cases the numbers of fluent speakers of any tribal language is less than 25% of what it was just 100 years ago. some tribal languages are so endangered that there are less that 25 people who speak it.
im not sure the cherokee language is on the endangered list just yet. but im pretty sure that many if not most of the native born speakers of the language, those people who grew up speaking the language in their homes, are over 65 years old.learn the language yourself, teach it to your children, make it part of you home life.


>>>I want it to show that I am here, I am embracing my culture, I see the ways of me ancestors, I know this next part will sound odd but I see and feel things when I am dancing that makes everything just go away. I loose myself in the beats and do movements I have never seen nor never done. I drift away and loose sight of spectatures and other dancers and feel the breeze when there is no breeze. I feel as if I don't dance but those who are gone or around who can no longer dance enter my spirit and use me to do the movements. So I want my tattoo to kinda show that I understand all this and that I am here to learn more as needed.<<<

[tsuj510]

Yup

keep in mind that i say this in all seriousness; if your mind is set on getting this tat you might consider getting it on your lower leg/calf area. no joke... i saw your picture or your profile and i seriously dont think your fore arms are big enough to support that bold of a design. maybe if you had 'incredible hulk' arms you could pull it off. but on normal people arms that design is going to bunch up and run together. i would also suggest that you shave the arm and try the design out for a bit first. get yourself a sharpie 'pen' (the sharpie pen, not the sharpie marker) and have someone draw it on you. try it out for a week or two. at least the sharpie will fade out eventually and if you dont like it, then youre not stuck with it.

plus youre talking about inking what is refered to as a 'public' area. doesnt always go over so well in the employment arena if you know what i mean. all of my tats are where they can easilly be covered by a short sleeved shirt. i can show 'em if i want and i can leave them covered if i dont. the art form itself has come a long way in the past 20 years or so both in tecnology and acceptance by the mainstream. but youre still going to have to face the stigma of the 'tattooed man' ; you ever have to deal with the cops? first thing they're going to notice is the ink. traffic court? the ink. job interview? the ink. dealing with clients/customers? the ink.

granted, it is your choice, but dont go doin something stupid. have a GOOD professional do the work. im not talking just a skilled pro artist, i mean a good professional. one who uses disposable/non reusable needles, doesnt share ink between clients, sterilizes his equipment between uses (if he doesnt take the gun out of the steriwrap in front of you ask for a new set up. if he says no, go to a different shop) dont go to the shop drunk (drunk people make the worst decissions) and one more thing.....inside of the forearm is a pretty tender place to get inked. go on a friday so you have the weekend to recover

More excellent points, everybody.

First, on the cleanliness thing, keep in mind there are no regulations when it comes to tattooing. No one to ensure that the body (like me) behind the counter gives a crap (I did) and autoclaves the rigs correctly. I would have gotten my rear kicked by a bad-*** lady punk rocker if I didn't.

Since you absolutley insist on doing this, at least do your homework first. I strongly suggest spending at least 6 months researching local tattoo artists. I do not mean every two-bit loser with ink in a twenty mile radius. You need a well established shop and artist. Any tattoo worth its salt will cost you at least $120/hr (USD) and that's a low-ball figure. I'd speak with any shop that has won local awards from Independant Newspapers, or are well spoken about on a site like yelp.com. Get to know the guys (or ladies). Find out who specializes in blackwork and study every detail of their work. Tell them your idea and get their responses.

Next, the tattoo in question is a bit unusual. I agree that it is probably not correct for your arms; its very tough to get straight lines on curved body parts. I have a huge leg tattoo and its not an issue work wise. There is a stigma though. If you get engaged, her parents wont be impressed, unless they are tattooed, or she is. Regardless of who your are, Mom will complain, most surely. I still hear about it. You can't donate blood, which I regret. Some employers will discriminate. It will fade in time, even with the improvements in modern ink. When I got my leg piece, it hurt like hell. You may be allergic to red, which many people are. If you are, yours is going to burn and eventaully reject the pigment. To save time, and skin damage, the guy will use a 9-mag. This is a set of nine needles three across and three deep. It will put the most amount of ink into the skin as possible per stroke. I'll take a SWAG and put the time on this at 3-5 hours to complete, minimum.

Knock yourself out...

[Da_Revolutionary]

I want it to show that I am here, I am embracing my culture, I see the ways of me ancestors, I know this next part will sound odd but I see and feel things when I am dancing that makes everything just go away. I loose myself in the beats and do movements I have never seen nor never done. I drift away and loose sight of spectatures and other dancers and feel the breeze when there is no breeze. I feel as if I don't dance but those who are gone or around who can no longer dance enter my spirit and use me to do the movements. So I want my tattoo to kinda show that I understand all this and that I am here to learn more as needed.

LMAO

Okay, you are obviously somewhat confused. But, that's a comment for another thread.

Anyhow, your tattoo is not "Traditional" in really any sense of the word. Tradition is something handed down from the previous to the next generation, something that goes back atleast 2 generations. From what I've gathered your tattoo goes back...like a week. Unless you didn't make it up. Assuming you didn't, I would hold off on getting one. I'm also Cherokee,and though I look the part that doesn't make me immune to scrutiny. What I'm trying to say is, us non-full Cherokee have it hard enough.

So, don't make it any harder on yourself by getting a tattoo, and making yourself look like an idiot. You don't see 1/8th Black people with tattoos of Africa on their faces do you? No, you don't.

[FluteMaker]

keep in mind that i say this in all seriousness; if your mind is set on getting this tat you might consider getting it on your lower leg/calf area. no joke... i saw your picture or your profile and i seriously dont think your fore arms are big enough to support that bold of a design. maybe if you had 'incredible hulk' arms you could pull it off. but on normal people arms that design is going to bunch up and run together. i would also suggest that you shave the arm and try the design out for a bit first. get yourself a sharpie 'pen' (the sharpie pen, not the sharpie marker) and have someone draw it on you. try it out for a week or two. at least the sharpie will fade out eventually and if you dont like it, then youre not stuck with it.

plus youre talking about inking what is refered to as a 'public' area. doesnt always go over so well in the employment arena if you know what i mean. all of my tats are where they can easilly be covered by a short sleeved shirt. i can show 'em if i want and i can leave them covered if i dont. the art form itself has come a long way in the past 20 years or so both in tecnology and acceptance by the mainstream. but youre still going to have to face the stigma of the 'tattooed man' ; you ever have to deal with the cops? first thing they're going to notice is the ink. traffic court? the ink. job interview? the ink. dealing with clients/customers? the ink.

granted, it is your choice, but dont go doin something stupid. have a GOOD professional do the work. im not talking just a skilled pro artist, i mean a good professional. one who uses disposable/non reusable needles, doesnt share ink between clients, sterilizes his equipment between uses (if he doesnt take the gun out of the steriwrap in front of you ask for a new set up. if he says no, go to a different shop) dont go to the shop drunk (drunk people make the worst decissions) and one more thing.....inside of the forearm is a pretty tender place to get inked. go on a friday so you have the weekend to recover

[they_drag_him]

MY TATTOO IS NOT WANNABE OR FAKE NOR IS IT TO HIDE MY PINK SKIN, IT HAS EVERY RIGHT OF MEANING NOW THAT I SAT AND THOUGHT HARD ON IT. ITS MEANING IS THIS: THE 7 BLACK POINTS ARE THE 7 BANDS OF CHEROKEE. THE 4 STRIPES ON TOP ARE THE 4 SACRED DIRECTIONS. THE Band at the bottom is the divided line between our world and the spirit world, the drips are the blood of the fallen. THATS NOT FAKE THANK YOU! <a href="http://tinypic.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i34.tinypic.com/2pu0c9k.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>

I think that I just struck your soft spot. Be careful for I might hit it again.

[Josiah]

MY TATTOO IS NOT WANNABE OR FAKE NOR IS IT TO HIDE MY PINK SKIN, IT HAS EVERY RIGHT OF MEANING NOW THAT I SAT AND THOUGHT HARD ON IT. ITS MEANING IS THIS: THE 7 BLACK POINTS ARE THE 7 BANDS OF CHEROKEE. THE 4 STRIPES ON TOP ARE THE 4 SACRED DIRECTIONS. THE Band at the bottom is the divided line between our world and the spirit world, the drips are the blood of the fallen. THATS NOT FAKE THANK YOU! <a href="http://tinypic.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i34.tinypic.com/2pu0c9k.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>

So dont call it a Traditional Tattoo and nobody will have a problem with it, for its not a traditional Cherokee Tattoo
It is made up of elements that are Cherokee I suppose
Perhaps if you added brown to the bottom band
And the 4 stripes were red,blue,black and white for the 4 directions
and the 7 points are suppose to radiate outward from the center showing unity of the clans

But do you get what I am saying???
This is not a Traditional Tattoo
You took something that you saw at a Powwow that you thought was cool and twisted it around to fit your idea of what it should look like if it were traditional...

[Highwolf89]

sounds good, Nicely done =) i think it will be great.

[ProudNightWolf]

MY TATTOO IS NOT WANNABE OR FAKE NOR IS IT TO HIDE MY PINK SKIN, IT HAS EVERY RIGHT OF MEANING NOW THAT I SAT AND THOUGHT HARD ON IT. ITS MEANING IS THIS: THE 7 BLACK POINTS ARE THE 7 BANDS OF CHEROKEE. THE 4 STRIPES ON TOP ARE THE 4 SACRED DIRECTIONS. THE Band at the bottom is the divided line between our world and the spirit world, the drips are the blood of the fallen. THATS NOT FAKE THANK YOU! <a href="http://tinypic.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i34.tinypic.com/2pu0c9k.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>

[they_drag_him]

Thanks New2itall, Also thanks Wakalapi and Kamama, and to answer you FluteMaker, I cant but you have REALLY just help me realize something HUGE! MEGWETCH! WAHDOE! HOW EVER YOU WISH TO SAY IT THANK YOU! THATS WHAT I NEEDED (I know I sound crazy but THANKS)

Just make sure that you don't come parading yourself around my neck of the woods. Tattoo your pole or whatever hides your pink skin.

[ProudNightWolf]

Thanks New2itall, Also thanks Wakalapi and Kamama, and to answer you FluteMaker, I cant but you have REALLY just help me realize something HUGE! MEGWETCH! WAHDOE! HOW EVER YOU WISH TO SAY IT THANK YOU! THATS WHAT I NEEDED (I know I sound crazy but THANKS)

[FluteMaker]

Well these tattoo's have called out to me and ive seen them on me in dreams so I am going to find the meaning at a powwow and prolly get them. They keep coming to me for SOME reason just dont know the reason yet. Thanks Mud.

ok....on a serious note here....... ive worked with people to design thier own tats before. most times people dont want flash off the wall because they just dont want something bunches of other people are walking around with, they want something thats strictly them.

you mentioned that you feel this type of design is "calling" out to you. whats it saying? what does this idea mean for you?

[FluteMaker]

Loosely translated...sounds like this guy got a tattoo that says he's a ...

Pole Smoker!!!

Well, that's my interpretation.

thats about the size of it.

[New2itall]

I saw a photo of a friend of mine (totally white guy) and realized he has these tats on his arms. I e-mailed him and asked him how he came by them and here is what he said
"The gauntlets on my forearms were inspired by a traditional Iroquois design I saw in a book on tattoos. I only altered the design slightly and working with the tattoo artist, we decided to do one arm in the positive version that I had drawn up and one in the negative. It came out looking very effective, or at least so I think."
So, while you may think that something has some deep spiritual meaning, sometime folks are just doing it cause they like the design. And let me repeat, it WILL NOT make anyone more native. If you like it, do it, but don't think it is gonna get you some kind of rez cred.