Chest Suspension and Fake Client Con: Difference between pages

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[[File:O-Kee-Pa-3.jpg|thumb|150px|right|O-Kee-Pa]]
This is a risk not to clients, but to practitioners. A '''fake client con''' job is designed to extort money from studios, usually by a traveling pair ("mother" and "daughter") who will hit all the tattoo studios in a town and then move on.
The '''O-Kee-Pa''' [[Suspensions|suspension]], named after the [[Native American]] rite, is a vertical [[Suspension|suspension]] hooked from the upper chest — many people have seen this ritual done in the movie "[[A Man Called Horse]]"."
The vertical chest suspension is considered to be the most difficult and painful suspension. Problems reported include difficulty breathing coupled with intense pain in the sternum and armpit areas.


[[File:O-Kee-Pa-1.jpg|thumb|230px|right|Picture of [[Mandan]] ritual by [[George Catlin]]]]
The con goes something like this (there are a ton of variations, all designed around local laws):


==Contents==
:''A young looking girl (16-18) comes in with her "mother" and wants to get a tattoo. Usually the girl will already have tattoos. If the area allows minors to be tattooed with parental consent, they'll present her as underage but with a parent (along with supporting ID). If it doesn't, she'll either give ID or have the "parent" claim she's of age and give consent. They will try to do all of this with as little paperwork as possible, and skate just outside the law (because they know the studio is more likely to bend the rules if it's "just a little" and "she already has tattoos," after all).
# [[#History|History]]
# [[#Cultural Appropriation|Cultural Appropriation]]
# [[#See Also|See Also]]
# [[#Related Risks|Related Risks]]


==History==
The day after the studio does the tattoo, the studio will get a call from "the real mother" informing them that they've just tattooed a minor, and that the "parent" was just a friend (or aunt) who went along without permission. The parent will offer to settle it on the spot if the studio hands over $1,000 "to pay for tattoo removal." Usually the studio will simply pay to avoid the huge potential headache.''
The Mandan O-Kee-Pa ("Buffalo Dance") ritual (which some people debate happened, but since this tribe was all but wiped out by smallpox in [[1837]] we'll never know for sure) as described by [[George Catlin]] involved dancing and sexual pantomime without food, drink, or sleep for the first four days. Then, body painted and in ritual clothing, the young warrior entered a ceremonial hut where the medicine man would cut incisions in his chest - some accounts claim "behind the muscle," but this is believed to be unlikely - through which wooden pegs would be inserted.


He was then tied to rafters in the roof (or, in other accounts an outdoor, frame) and suspended, sometimes with weights attached. The warrior would then twist and swing until he entered a transcendent state. Some accounts of the ceremony finish with a self-amputation of a little finger joint. This is also considered dubious, as accounts of "primitive" rituals tend to be laden with exaggeration and prejudice, and also tend to be heavily edited to account for what the public wants to hear and is felt to be "allowed" to hear.
Studios can defend themselves by knowing their local laws ''and sticking to them.'' Don't make exceptions; remember that even the people who ''appear'' trustworthy are still just total strangers who walked in off the street. If the law requires a certain type of ID, get that ID from all required parties and DOCUMENT DOING IT. If documentation of proof of ID is obtained, the scammers have little opportunity to do any damage legally (although they could generate some very bad press).


[[File:O-Kee-Pa-2.jpg|thumb|150px|right|O-Kee-Pa]]
As far as performing any piercings or tattoos without [[Identification|identification]] is concerned, remember one important thing: ''when someone asks an artist to do this, they are asking him or her to break the law in a way that risks the artist's livelihood!''


==Cultural Appropriation==
== See Also ==
It is important to note that many people, concerned about [[Cultural appropriation|cultural appropriation]] feel that calling this suspension an ''"O-Kee-Pa"'' rather than just a ''"vertical chest suspension"'' is deeply disrespectful to Native Americans, and this name is rarely used any more unless also being used to refer to the full set of ritual and mythos that surrounds the real O-Kee-Pa. A two point vertical chest suspension is no more an "O-Kee-Pa" than drinking a glass of wine at dinner is taking communion.
* [[Fake Client Sting]]


==See Also==
== Entries related to this risk ==
* [[Sun Dance]]
* [[Tattoo]]
* [[Suspension]]
* [[Piercing]]
 
==Related Risks==
* [[Torn Suspension Hook]]

Latest revision as of 03:31, 17 September 2023

This is a risk not to clients, but to practitioners. A fake client con job is designed to extort money from studios, usually by a traveling pair ("mother" and "daughter") who will hit all the tattoo studios in a town and then move on.

The con goes something like this (there are a ton of variations, all designed around local laws):

A young looking girl (16-18) comes in with her "mother" and wants to get a tattoo. Usually the girl will already have tattoos. If the area allows minors to be tattooed with parental consent, they'll present her as underage but with a parent (along with supporting ID). If it doesn't, she'll either give ID or have the "parent" claim she's of age and give consent. They will try to do all of this with as little paperwork as possible, and skate just outside the law (because they know the studio is more likely to bend the rules if it's "just a little" and "she already has tattoos," after all).

The day after the studio does the tattoo, the studio will get a call from "the real mother" informing them that they've just tattooed a minor, and that the "parent" was just a friend (or aunt) who went along without permission. The parent will offer to settle it on the spot if the studio hands over $1,000 "to pay for tattoo removal." Usually the studio will simply pay to avoid the huge potential headache.

Studios can defend themselves by knowing their local laws and sticking to them. Don't make exceptions; remember that even the people who appear trustworthy are still just total strangers who walked in off the street. If the law requires a certain type of ID, get that ID from all required parties and DOCUMENT DOING IT. If documentation of proof of ID is obtained, the scammers have little opportunity to do any damage legally (although they could generate some very bad press).

As far as performing any piercings or tattoos without identification is concerned, remember one important thing: when someone asks an artist to do this, they are asking him or her to break the law in a way that risks the artist's livelihood!

See Also

Entries related to this risk