Photo by John Wensley

One hundred and twenty miles off the frozen northwest coast of Alaska we find a speck of windswept rock called St. Lawrence Island. Temperatures can plunge half way to Absolute Zero and Asiatic Eskimo tribesmen can live past 100. Alice, the tattoo shaman, is that nearly that old. But can she see well enough to wield that bone needle? And if Thomas is willing, will she give him what he's looking for? Will she consent to thread the strand of reindeer sinew through his skin -- in what would most certainly be the last most authentic tattoo on this planet?

Inhabitants of St. Lawrence Island circa 1816, show facial tattoos.
Artist, Louis Choris of the Otto von Kotzebue Expedition (1815-1818)
Click picture for larger image

Click here for more great historical photos/info about tattoos
and the early hunter-gatherers of the Arctic!

Piercing and Penetration in the Arctic

The Last Tattoos of St. Lawrence Island, Alaska

NEXT: To the Queen Charlotte Islands

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