Native American War Paint vs. Catholic Mass

My family and I belong to a very traditional Catholic church in Carmel, Indiana. Although now a written rule in the church-goer’s handbook, it is understood that you present yourself respectfully and purely when in the Lord’s house. From an early age, we are told God made our bodies exactly as he intended and therefore, we should refrain from getting tattoos.

While this is an idea I have grown up with, my heritage has a different way of being. I am of Potawatomi decent where tattoos are a common way of expressing themselves. For this assignment, I looked up several different Native American tribal paints and wore them on my face during Sunday mass.

I told my parents about my plans and I received exactly the response I thought I would. My Dad told me “NO you will not!” He reminded me it would draw unwanted attention to myself and it would likely be seen as disrespectful. I explained to him the whole point of the assignment would be to break the ‘rules’ and see how it goes. While he was not very happy with my decision, he understood what I was trying to accomplish.

The entire mass I felt people staring at me. I felt incredibly uncomfortable. I did my best to keep my head up, act as though everything was normal, and continue to sing the songs and read from along with the Gospel with everyone else.  I do not remember a single word never-the-less the actual message I was supposed to get from the homily because I was so distracted from my Native American face paint!

I was dreading the time when it was my turn to receive Communion. During Communion at a Catholic mass, you walk in a single file line up to the Priest, hold out your hand as he displays the Body of Christ, and then you receive the Sacrament.  As he was holding the Body of Christ, I could feel him looking all over my face, trying to understand why I had the ‘tattoos’ on me. I have never been one to break the rules and while this was not a written in stone ‘rule’ of the church, I could tell he was surprised to see me stray from the conservative ways of the church.

Overall, this was a very interesting experience. I learned how it feels to stray from the pack and be considered as an outsider in this instance. I understand why rules are in place and most of the time I feel they are appropriate. I tested the rules of the church and understood how it feels to be an outsider for an hour of my Sunday.