Among all the tribes or bands belonging to the Haida family, the practice of tattooing the person in some manner is common; but the most marked are the Haidas proper, or those living on Queen Charlotte islands, and the Kaiganis, of Prince of Wales archipelago, Alaska.
I am of the opinion, judging from my own observation of over twenty years among the coast tribes, that but few females can be found among the Indians, not only on Vancouvers island, but all along the coast to the Columbia river, and perhaps even to California, that are not marked with some device tattooed on their hands, arms, or ankles, either dots or straight lines; but of all of the tribes mentioned, the Haidas stand preeminent for tattooing, and seem to be excelled only by the natives of the Fiji islands or the King’s Mills group in the south seas. The tattoo marks of the Haidas are heraldic designs or the family totem, or crests of the wearers, and are similar to the carvings depicted on the pillars and monuments around the homes of the chiefs, which casual observers have thought were idols.
These designs are invariably placed on the men between the shoulders just below the back of the neck, on the breast, on the front part of both thighs, and on the legs below the knee. On the women they are marked on the breast, on both shoulders, on both forearms, from the elbow down over the back of the hands to the knuckles, and on both legs below the knee to the ankle.
Almost all of the Indian women of the northwest coast have tattoo marks on their hands and arms, and some on the face; but as a general thing these marks are mere dots or straight lines having no particular significance. With the Haidas, however, every mark has its meaning; those on the hands and arms of the women indicate the family name, whether they belong to the bear, beaver, wolf, or eagle totems, or any of the family of fishes. As one of them quaintly remarked to me, “If you were tattooed with the design of a swan, the Indians would know your family name.”
In order to illustrate this tattooing as correctly as possible I inclose herewith sketches of the tattoo marks on two women and their husbands, taken by me at Port Townsend.
Fig. 525.—Tattooed Haidas.
The man on the left hand of Fig. 525 is a tattooed Haida. On his breast is the cod (kahátta), split from the head to the tail and laid open; on each thigh is the octopus (noo), and below each knee is the frog (flkamkostan).
The woman in the same figure has on her breast the head and forepaws of the beaver (tsching); on each shoulder is the head of the eagle or thunder-bird (skamskwin); on each arm, extending to and covering the back of the hand, is the halibut (hargo); on the right leg is the skulpin (kull); on the left leg is the frog (flkamkostan).