Indian Chief Wolf Tattoo

What the headdress actually is

The feathered war bonnet is not generic Native American dress. It belongs to a small number of Plains nations, and within those it was earned rather than worn by choice.

Individual feathers marked specific acts. A bonnet was assembled over years, granted by a community, and worn by men who had a recognised standing. It was closer to a set of decorations than to a costume.

Films flattened all of that into a single image used for every Indigenous person on the continent, which is roughly like dressing every European in a bishop's mitre.

Which is worth knowing rather than avoiding

This design belongs to a long tradition of outsiders imagining Indigenous life rather than recording it. It is a romantic composition, not a document.

That does not make it a bad drawing. It does mean it should not be mistaken for a record of anything, and the real traditions are considerably more interesting than the flattened version.

Our article on the wolf in Native American tradition covers the specifics, including nations that treated the wolf as kin rather than quarry.

The tattoo

Drawn in black and grey with no colour in it anywhere. Three heads stack together. The chief is at the top right, turned three quarters away, with the bonnet sweeping back behind him, a patterned band across his forehead and a hoop at his ear with two feathers hanging from it. A wolf stands at his shoulder on the left, ears up and head turned aside, and a second wolf sits lower and forward of them both, looking straight out with its mouth slightly open.

Apply to clean dry skin with no moisturiser, press with a damp sponge and peel slowly.

See the wolf temporary tattoo range.

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