Facial Tatoos of the West Coast

Enjoy this activity online until June 13th.

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From Seattle, the conference will explore the tights bonds that exist between facial tattoos and masks of the West Coast’s First Nations. Nahaan will also unveil the mysteries of his profession: he has been making cultural tatoos for over yen years.

Nahaan’s matrilineal lineage is of the Tlingit, his grandfather is Iñupiaq, his biological father of the Paiute and his actual father is of the Kaigani Haida. He focuses exclusively on working within the spirit and design style of the Northwest Coast practices and customs of ceremonial tattooing, wood carving, copper and abalone jewelry, painting and custom designing of regalia and tattoos. Nahaan emulates the strong visual and oral storytelling that has been handed down from generation to generation, it’s the foundation of his work, way of living and teaching of his cultural traditions. Within the realms of language arts and expression, Nahaan teaches the Tlingit language through traditional songs, dances and free Indigenous only community classes as a service to his community. He is the leader for Tlingit based inter-tribal group Náakw Dancers, a group he started in Seattle, Washington in 2014, in order to perpetuate the rich expressions of the Pacific Northwests Native population. Nahaan is also a spoken word poet and co-founded “Woosh Kinaadeiyeí” poetry slam in Juneau, Alaska in 2010 which has since grown into a thriving and creative mainstay in the capitol city. He is also a vocalist for Khu.éex’ a Seattle based band that presents a contemporary interpretation of Tlingit culture. He focuses on the aspects of community empowerment and self mastery through the methods of dekkkolonization, Indigenization, education and activism. He offers workshop facilitation and keynotes for conferences and events near and far.

English Conference with French traduction by Eddie O’Gorman.