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Today, how many people did you see walking down the street that had some sort of body modification, tattoos to be specific? One, two, maybe half a dozen? Tattoos are now a fairly popular form of expression in Western culture. However many of the symbols, as well as processes that are utilized in tattooing come from indigenous cultures where (unlike the west) tattoos are the norm, not the exception.
Tattooing is a process by which pigment is inserted under the skin in order to create a permanent image. Tattooing has only recently gained general acceptance in Western society. Today, tattooing in Western culture is something that is seen as fashionable and can be used to identify oneself with specific subcultures. During the 1990s tattoo artists were looking for new designs and methods of tattooing to explore. Many of them found that the bold lines associated with the tattoos done in the south Pacific added a new unique flavor to their tattoos. From the early 90s to today, tribal tattoo’s popularity has sky-rocketed. Now, almost everyone who goes to get a tattoo, will get a “tribal” design. According to Vanishingtattoo.com’s Tattoo Facts & Statistics page, the keyword most often used when searching for tattoo designs was the word tribal.
So what if Indigenous tattoo designs have become popular with the public? Why should any of this be significant, isn’t it just another form of fashion or personal adornment? The main problem with tribal style tattoos, is that most of them are based off of symbols that have been appropriated from other cultures. These symbols and designs all have culture specific meanings which are lost, simply due to the fact that most of the majority of Western society doesn’t understand the meaning behind many of these symbols.
So the tattoos are taken out of context, surely there is no harm in this? But if we consider the fact that the designs are part of a shared cultural practice and heritage, then these symbols should be under the purview of indigenous knowledge. Though these symbols are used fairly freely in many of the cultures with which they are associated, the cultural concept of things like “public domain” are not universal. Often times before a specific design can be applied a person has to demonstrate that they qualify for this specific tattoo. As I said earlier these symbols sometimes have culture specific meanings, if these tattoos are applied to people who don’t “qualify” for the tattoos then it is often times considered offensive.
The ownership of these symbols is not in question; culturally they are owned by the indigenous people from the country where the design originated. The question is, in today current system of intellectual property, who has control, and can benifit or gain profit from these designs. Since many of these traditional designs are not held under copyright, they are freely used by many people. However if these designs fall under the purview of indigenous knowledge then they should in fact be protected by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“Indigenous peoples have the right to practice and revitalize their cultural traditions and customs. This includes the right to maintain, protect and develop the past, present and future manifestations of their cultures, such as archaeological and historical sites, artifacts, designs, ceremonies, technologies and visual and performing arts and literature.”
This passage, although not strictly relating to intellectual property, is applicable to the concept. If indigenous people have the right to protect specific designs from their culture, then it follows that they should be able to protect the practice and symbols associated with tattooing. However, it seems highly unlikely that any group of indigenous people would be able to muster the legal force to to stop individuals from tattooing their cultural symbols on their body. For that matter there is no manner of official regulation in the body modification culture whatsoever.
The status of folklore doesn’t appear to be as important as indigenous knowledge relating to the medicinal use of plants. However it is important enough that many governments all over the world have been pushing for legislation that would protect folklore at an international level. In 2000 the WIPO in concert with an intergovernmental committee, have entered into talks to create an international frame-work for the protection of folklore. Many governments have or are moving towards providing for the national protection of folklore, such as the government of Australia
Cultural appropriation has been going on for thousands of years. The free flow and exchange of ideas across cultures is what has helped create the world we live in today. Often times, we see nearby cultures that have similar traditions. In the realm of tattoos, we see this sharing of designs and motifs that occurs among the various Iban people of what was once known as Borneo. These designs were shared even though many of these symbols are associated with specific tribes. With so many years of cultural melding, and exchange, its difficult to say where exactly certain symbols come from. However the world that we live in today, is one of regulations, power and profit. Certain aspects of cultural exchange can be extremely beneficial. However when a profit is being made off a design/idea/process that has been established as belonging to an indigenous population, there needs to be compensation. As of this point there is not system built into the intellectual property framework to deal with the appropriation of cultural designs that is effective. Not even an Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) regime would even begin to compensate indigenous people. Perhaps if in the future there is a regulatory body for the body modification industry then we may see some changes.
