The practice of modifying one’s skin as a means of expression has been active for as long as 5300 years (Haskings-Winner, Collichaw, Kritzer, & Warecki, 2011). However, in modern day societies the stigma against body modification, including tattoos is still prevalent. To understand why people of a North American influence would subject themselves to this potential undermining, one must first uncover what motivates a person to permanently enhance their skin. Primarily, research into the topic, history, traditions, modern meanings, was conducted using printed resources, online databases, and online-published journals. Notes and condensed summaries of said research was used to create survey questions and a general audience was decided. Once the survey was conducted, the results were tabulated and analysed so that a conclusion could be determined. In this study, southern Canadians are questioned about their motivations to get tattoos, and results are compared to ancient tattoo traditions from other cultures to conclude that southern Canadians, more often than not, do attach profound personal meaning to their tattoos. To understand why a person might tattoo their skin, a practice known to be permanent and painful, research was directed toward the history of tattooing. It was discovered that the art of skin modification had been traced back to 5300 years ago by dating a mummified corpse ordained with tattoos (Haskings-Winner, Collichaw, Kritzer, & Warecki, 2011). The tattoos of