The mother-of-pearl tusk that runs through Quannah ChasingHorse’s septum is not a fashion statement. Neither is her chin tattoo. Both serve as direct ties to her Han Gwich’in tribe in Eagle Village, Alaska — rites of passage that symbolize her official role within her community as a hunter and warrior.
They also serve as inspiration to the younger members of Ms. ChasingHorse’s Indigenous communities, which includes the Sicangu and Oglala Lakota nations of the Great Plains and Black Hills. “Bad River,” a documentary narrated by Ms. ChasingHorse currently streaming on Xfinity, is about the native Wisconsin Bad River Band’s battle to save Lake Superior. In it, a girl tells Ms. ChasingHorse that seeing how she’s reclaimed this practice has had a positive influence on her own relationship with the traditional tattoo custom.
In an interview, which has been edited and condensed, the environmental activist and fashion model talked about how the jewelry she wears has culturally significant meaning.
How old were you when you got your septum pierced?
I got my septum when I was, I think, 15 or 16, shortly after I got my first tattoo on my chin. My mom really educated me on our people and our practices and a lot of our ceremonies and traditions. And I remember learning that in our tribe, warriors would get these really big septum piercings of a bone through their nose. And then I learned that women would also get these septum piercings.
Our communities, native communities, most tribes, operate as a matriarchal society. And the more I learned, the more that resonated with me because I was raised by a single mom. If you are a great hunter, no matter if you’re a man or a woman, you’d be a hunter. But if you were really good at sewing and cooking, even if you were a man or a two-spirit person, that would be your role.
There were some women that really took up that space and proved themselves to be warriors. And through those teachings, me and my mom were told that we should get the septum piercings because we were the only women in our tribe that go out by ourselves and come back with a caribou or a moose or something.
Did you immediately get the piece of bone that you wear now, or did you start with something else?
I always had a little hoop, but in the last few years, I did a lot of research on how to make a bone tusk. I found this incredible artist who makes these amazing tusks out of buffalo horn, out of mother of pearl, out of wood, out of many different materials. Now I wear mother-of-pearl most of the time. Sometimes I’ll put in the black [buffalo horn] one.
When you come across someone from your community today, does your septum piercing, or the tusk communicate: “She is a hunter”?
I feel like it’s more so for the elders and the older people from our community. But because of colonization, I had to do college-level research to find a lot of things on my tribe because there was a lot of erasure and a lot of genocidal tactics that took a lot of our history and teachings and practices from us. So tattooing and piercings were things we had to reclaim and relearn, even how to give the tattoo.
I feel like a lot of older people will recognize our markings and the septum piercing, but they don’t always agree with it because they’re so indoctrinated into colonization that it scares them because “it’s demonic.” They were taught that. So a lot of it is unlearning those things and relearning our culture and traditions and keeping them alive.
It sounds like what’s most important for you is to pass down the meaning behind the jewelry.
It is something that I would share with my children or my grandchildren, if I ever have any. I feel like it really is a huge part of my identity as an Indigenous person. I’ve encouraged other native girls from my tribe and other tribes that practice these things to get their piercing or get their tattoo.
Tell me more about your jawbone earrings.
Those earrings are marten jaw earrings. They’re a wild animal in Alaska that’s in the weasel family. That piece was made for me and harvested by my younger brother. He’s the hunter culture bearer of our community. A big part of our practices and culture as Indigenous people is we never take more than what we need. We always give thanks and show appreciation for the animal and respect them by harvesting and doing it in a way where they are being laid to rest.
What do these pieces mean to you?
It’s so interesting to be able to show the world that every tribe has a fashion sense, a style, a regalia that is very specific to their tribe. I think the biggest thing that I remind people is that we’re all different and we’re not a monolith, and that’s something we’re trying to reclaim and share with the world. But also, even if we’re not all the same, we still have the same values. And that’s what makes us sovereign and stand in solidarity with one another.
When I got my first tattoo and when I got my septum piercing, I literally felt like I was on top of the world. It was like having the bodily autonomy and being an autonomous person while also reclaiming this sacred tradition and practice that was almost taken from us. And so it really does have a positive impact on our community because it allows us to fully embrace ourselves as Indigenous people.
