By Jacelle Ramon-Sauberan and Molly Young, AIJI

Brady Orvis, the owner of Skin Gallery Tattoos in Yankton, S.D., decided to open his business a year and a half ago after moving to the town from Sioux Falls, S.D.

“At the time I moved here, there wasn’t a tattoo shop here, so I figured Yankton needed one,” Orvis said.

Orvis, who has drawn his entire life, became a tattoo artist eight years ago.

“A lot of people ask, ‘What’s the craziest tattoo you’ve done or what’s the oddest or the weirdest or whatever?’” Orvis said, “It’s like, well, what’s weird anymore these days?”

A steady flow of customers come into the shop, located at 1012 Broadway Avenue, where state highways 50 and 81 merge. Some clients choose tattoos from books in his shop, while others bring in their own designs, Orvis said.

“A lot of people come in and just pick whatever,” he said. “Hopefully it’s something that means something to you.”

Orvis’ artwork can be found at www.skingallery.org.

Ramon-Sauberan and Young are student journalists at the American Indian Journalism Institute sponsored by the Freedom Forum.