Collection search - [Aivillik woman Nivisanaaq ("Shoofly Comer") in beaded amauti]. Original title: (A.P. Low Expedition, 1903-1904) Aivillik woman Nivisanaaq ("Shoofly Comer") in gala dress

The caption of this record has not yet been revised through Project Naming.
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Historically, all Inuit women received tattoos as a rite of passage. They were most often on the face and hands but could also be on the arms, legs, and/or chest. During the early 1900's camera's were becoming more accessible and more people were travelling more to the Arctic. These visitors often photographed Inuit women and subsequently, their tattoos. Sometimes the photographers traced already existing tattoos or painted the women's faces with designs of other regions. Sometimes it appears they tried to cover the tattoos with make-up (rouge) or erase them during the printing process in the darkroom. As a result, the tattoo designs shown here may not be representative of the woman or her region.

Title assigned by Library and Archives Canada.

For other images of Nivisarnaaq (also called "Shoofly"), see Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development fonds at Library and Archives Canada. Also, Geraldine and Douglas Moodie fonds at the Glenbow Museum; and George Comer Collection at the Mystic Seaport Museum., The beaded tuilik worn by Nivisarnaaq ("Shoofly") in the photograph is held at the American Museum of Natural History, part of Captain Comer's collection, catalogue no. 60/5758.