The Tlingit and Haida of Alaska used body modification procedures including Tatooing and piercing in order to proclaim their status and clan affiliation. The ceremony of piercing the ears of noble children was an important occasion which called for the participation of the whole clan and a festival of drinking and exchange. These ceremonies were called potlatches, although outlawed in the first half of the 20th century due to cultural misunderstanding of the ceremonies, leading to their decline. At these potlatches, after days of feasting the noble children would be pierced and tattooed by noble women or shamans. The Haida and Tlingit did this in order to display their position in society on differentiate them from other groups. The clan symbol also defined their relationship with other clans and showed their connection to the animal displayed.
The boys would be tattooed on the chest and the girls on the hands. Generally, the crest animal or some part of it would be tattooed onto the body.
The crest is immortal, and in ceremonies it would be the crest symbol that shamans would speak to rather than the person who was wearing the crest.
The below photo is of the Haida chief on the right where his grizzly bear tattoo on his shoulder in 1881
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