I'll have what she's having

My great-grandmother was born a full blood indian. Back in those days there was a lot of inter-tribal warfare. Raiding parties would regularly take women and children captives back to their tribe. To help combat these practices and sort out who belonged to whom, my ancestors took to tattooing the children. An indelible proof of lineage that would last a lifetime. My great-grandmother's tribal tattoo was a bird and three diamonds. She was not proud of it at all. In her later life she wore long button sleeves and gloves to hide it from view. At that time only prostitutes and sailors had tattoos, and she didn't want to be identified as either. So very few people ever saw the tattoo. Which is sad, becase if I was going to pick an image to be put onto my body, it would be that one. The tattoo my great-grandmother had. My tribal symbol, my family crest, my heritage. But hardly anybody ever saw it, and nobody seems very sure of what it looks like.