Scraping a Hide

Tanned hides had many uses in the daily life of native people of the plains. It was work done by women and young girls and followed a series of steps utilizing specialized tools for each process.

The first step was to remove the fat and meat from the flesh side of a fresh hide. The hide was either pegged flat to the ground or laced to a four-sided upright frame, with the hair-side down or facing away. A fleshing tool was used to remove fat and meat, after which the hide was left to dry out and bleach for a few days. After this, the flesh side was evened out, by using a scraper.

The next step was to remove the hair by scraping the hair side of the hide. This was done if the hide was being made into clothing. If it was to be used for a robe, the hair was left on. With the flesh and hair side dry, this became rawhide. Fat was rubbed into the rawhide and the hide strips were rolled up for future use. Rawhide was used to make parfleches (envelope-like containers used to carry utensils and pemmican), moccasin soles and ropes.

Artifacts courtesy of the Glenbow
Museum Collection, Calgary, Alberta

The tanning process that followed was the manipulation of the rawhide to make the soft, white buckskin. A mixture of brains, fat and liver from the animal was rubbed into the rawhide using a smooth stone, and left to dry. When dry, it was soaked in water until it could be rolled into a tight bundle. The bundle was then stretched and worked back into shape using one’s feet and hands. As it slowly dried, it was continually manipulated and stretched to make it pliable and soft and pulled back and forth through a rawhide loop, creating friction and heat, which dries the hide and increases softness. The result was the white buckskin. This buckskin could not get wet, or it would stiffen and become hard, and then the process would have to be done all over again. Instead, the next step in the tanning process was to smoke the hide, which created a hide that could get wet.

Smoked tanned hides were commonly used for everyday use. Smoking sealed the fibres, creating a durable garment that didn’t stiffen if wet, making it waterproof and gave the hide its tan colour. Smoking also helped to soften the hide.