Kyra Kilabuk says she never expected to become a sought-after tattoo artist when she started practising on synthetic skin a decade ago.

“I ordered a beginner kit and started it at home for myself just to practise for fun, with no intention of ever coming this far or imagining that it would become something like this,” the Iqaluit-based visual artist said in a phone interview.

“Once I became more comfortable and started tattooing myself and some close friends and family, I really noticed there’s a huge demand for it.”

Now, traditional Inuit tattoos, or kakiniit, as they’re known in Inuktitut, are one of Kilabuk’s specialties.

She is scheduled to take her talents to Winnipeg later this month for a weeklong tattooing event run by the Manitoba Inuit Association. From Feb. 11 to 17, she will provide traditional tattoos for Inuit in the city at no charge.

All available spots were booked up within 30 minutes of the announcement, she said, and the waitlist is now 100 names long.

Kilabuk thinks there’s such high demand because while cities like Winnipeg have numerous tattoo shops, it can be challenging for Inuit living in urban centres to find an Inuk tattooist who understands the cultural significance of the tattoos.

“The connection between what you’re getting and what it means to you is so much more authentic if you have somebody who understands it themselves,” Kilabuk said.

Most of Kilabuk’s clients are women, especially those seeking traditional tattoos, and the age range varies from teenagers to elders.

The kakiniit that Kilabuk’s clients get often weave in personal connections to family and community.

However, some placements and styles are particularly popular: facial tattoos, called tunniit, often positioned on the forehead or chin; delicate lines and dots under the eyebrows; tattoos across the back and chest to represent the amauti; and wrist, hand and finger tattoos.

Another style that is popular is birthing tattoos, generally tattooed on the upper thighs.

“Normally, this is done when a woman is going to give birth or they want to have a child,” Kilabuk said.

“We decorate their thighs beautifully and do symbols in the way that they want so that when their baby is born, the first thing that they’ll see is this art on their mother’s thighs.”

Kilabuk is a mom herself, but says she’s thinking of adding that special tattoo to her own collection to symbolize being a mother.

She said these days, she’s seeing more and more Inuit with traditional tattoos, especially younger generations who are keen to reconnect with this part of their culture.

“It really starts with understanding the history and background of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, because I feel like there’s so much taken away from us for generations,” Kilabuk said.

“I know there are some people who feel like it shouldn’t be done, or [they feel] they might have some backlash against them for whatever reasons, and that’s OK.”

But it’s beautiful and important to keep the practice alive because Inuit share their stories through art, she said. And, Kilabuk added, having tattoos in highly visit spots like the face and hands is a “big power statement.”

“Having traditional tattoos like this available for the public to see, right on our face, right on our hands, where they are very visible is a very big power statement.”

“It really comes down to revitalizing our culture and being proud of who we are,” Kilabuk said.