| Tavana Salmon | |
| Birth Date: | 1920 1, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Papeete, French Polynesia, France |
| Nationality: | French |
| Occupation: | Culture advocate Tattoo artist |
Tavana Salmon (13 January 1920 – 24 September 2024) was a French Polynesian culture advocate and tattoo artist.[1] In 1982, he began his contributions to Polynesian culture through his tattoo practice.[2]
Born on 13 January 1920 in Papeete, Salmon had a Tahitian mother and American father. He moved to Hawaii at the age of three and attended school there and performed shows in Waikiki for 17 years. He also appeared in a film, The Bounty, which was about the mutiny on the Bounty. In 1982, he returned to Polynesia to begin his tattoo practice.[3] That year, over 100 people were tattooed, with 150 the following year.[4] At the start of the revival, there were very few people on Tahiti who had the traditional tattoos.[5] He personally tattooed ten people a day for ten years straight.[6] He made appearances in the documentary films Tatau, le renouveau du tatouage (2007)[7] and Tatau, la culture d'un art (2015).[8] [9]
Salmon died on 24 September 2024, at the age of 104.[10]