PhD Oral Exam - Melanie Lefebvre, Individualized Program

When studying for a doctoral degree (PhD), candidates submit a thesis that provides a critical review of the current state of knowledge of the thesis subject as well as the student’s own contributions to the subject. The distinguishing criterion of doctoral graduate research is a significant and original contribution to knowledge.

Once accepted, the candidate presents the thesis orally. This oral exam is open to the public.

Abstract

This dissertation, grounded in Michif and Nehiyaw Plains Indigenous worldviews, explores ancestral skin marking or traditional tattooing as a mode of healing and (re)connection for contemporary Indigenous people with a particular focus on 2SLGBTQIA+ and Indigenous women. Traditional tattooing by Indigenous cultures in so-called Canada was deemed savage by explorers, missionaries, and government, with many communities concealing the practice for fear of reprisals by the church and state. This dissertation discusses a new generation of Indigenous traditional tattoo practitioners that is reawakening this practice. It draws on research-creation conducted while traveling through so-called Canada from 2019 to 2024 and engaging with community members through tattoo practice to describe the development of a new Michif and Nehiyaw tattooing methodology. This methodology is born out of the transformative connections made during those travels and grounded in and guided by Michif and Nehiyaw ways of being. These include the relational methodologies of kiyôkêwin (visiting), wâhkôhtowin (kinship), kitimahkinawow (pity and compassion), and tâpwêwin (truth telling) guiding the development of the new Michif and Nehiyaw methodology: O and ∆. These shapes carry and enact meanings related to gender, identity, belonging, transformation, healing, and connecting to ancestral frequencies. Engaging with these methodologies helps us understand, embody, and practice traditional tattooing as ancestral medicine in support of Indigenous people as we imagine and cultivate bold Indigenous futures.