Kimberly Erin Smith (b. 1981)

Bethel, Alaska

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I received my chin marking in October 2018, and my forehead and cheek markings in July 2019 from Sarah Whalen-Lunn. With these tattoos, I wanted to bring myself to a place of healing and connect to my roots as a Yup'ik woman. When I received the tattoo, it felt like all she did was reveal what had already been there. It didn’t feel like she marked me, it felt like all she did was wipe away, and they appeared. It felt like I had these my whole life, and I was just hiding them.