In 1876, the tattoo machine was invented. This same year the Canadian Indian Act was enforced to apply genocidal tactics including the disenfranchisement of Indigenous peoples and the implementation of Indian Status numbers. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were empowered to take care of the ‘”Indian Problem”, and to uphold and abide by the racist, unjust laws created against Indigneous peoples by the Indian Act. The name, RCMP Ink, is a cheeky play on reality TV shows that follow tattoo artists.
