For about 15 years, I have wanted to tan a deer hide with the hair on. I did a lot of research on the topic but was intimidated because tanning with hair on is not recommended. Apparently, deer have hair NOT fur. Hair (like human hair) is hollow and tends to break. Fur is found on fox, wolf, bear, feline, etc. So, when tanning a deer hide, people do so without hair. Despite these facts I wanted to challenge myself because I had seen the lovely products. Over the years, I was gifted skins from various hunter family and friends. I was able to get to various stages of the process but never fully processed until this year after a deer hide camp over the summer. I got brave.
While riding my bike to work for the first time, I saw a fawn that was killed by a car on the side of the road. I decided I would return with my vehicle, collect the critter, and do some experimenting. They say, "Every animal has enough brain to tan its own hide." The saying continues, "except for humans and bison." I am not sure who found out that humans do not have enough brain to tan their own hides, but I will definitely avoid meeting them!
Deer on the other hand have plenty of brains. Allow me to backtrack, over a three-day period at the end of May this year, I had the privilege of attending a deer hide tanning workshop at the Onosegwede Cultural Center on Allegany Territory at Seneca Nation in Salamanca, NY.
Jodi Maracle, a member of Kanien'kehà:ka (aka Mohawk) from Six Nations Reserve in Canada was our leader.
Jodi, and her friend, stepped us through the process of creating buckskin, using a variety of contemporary tools and tanning formulas, which included brains. They were patient, meticulous, and skilled.
History side note:
Before European settlers introduced manufactured cloth across North America, members of Northeastern First Nation's relied heavily on buckskins and furs as clothing. The process was labor intensive and communal (which probably made it easier). It was efficient, environmentally friendly, and economical. People used every part of the animal. As the old saying goes, "Waste not want not."
However, as Europeans gained stronger footholds in the stolen and settled lands and the manufacturing of textiles became more refined, members of the Haudenosaunee communities began to prefer cloth over tanned hides based on the economy of time. For an in-depth historical view check out Shirts Powdered Red (2023) by Maeve E. Kane.
Today, despite the fact that most people (Native and settler alike) opt to purchase clothing from retailers, buckskin and handmade items hold special value to those who work with and value the material.
During the workshop, our leaders explained to us participants the step-by-step process of removing the hair and follicles from the skin. We were told to feel and listen to the sound as we scraped in order to familiarize ourselves with the process. Jodi explained how she set up the class like a cooking show with different portions of the skins processed at different steps in order to condense the processing time, so that we participants would be able to experience the full process to completion. In total there may have been about 6 hides provided by hunters for the purposes of the workshop.
These days, it is the rare hunter who uses every part of the animal that they harvest for food. Again, this was lucky for us because Jodi was able to get enough hides for us to learn from without much effort. Remember economy of time! So, after removing the hair, soaking the hides in a brine solution and then a vinegar solution, we were able to make the tanning solutions. The recipe for the brain was just warmed brains in warm water. Since the skins were donated from hunters without the brain, Jodi used beef brain obtained from a local butcher (see the photos above the pink is the brain solution). As an alternative, Jodi showed us a similar process with lye soap and lard (see the yellow solution in the bin) which works similarly to the brain tanning (but has a better smell).
After soaking for about 12 hours, the hides were removed from the solution and wrung out. The largest of the skins was put attached to a frame that Jodi made in order for us to work the hide to softness. The smaller hides were manually softened by stretching and pulling. Once completely dried, we sewed the hide into a bag and used punky wood to smoke. Smoking is the final step in the process which gives color and renders the hide water resistant. It also provides that homey smell.
This was an amazing experience. Although at the end of the 3-day hide camp my hands were aching, I gained valuable knowledge and the confidence to try my hand at tanning a hide from scratch with the hair on! It was also empowering for me because I have seen numerous dead animals on the side of the road and I wanted to honor them. Now I am.
Coming full circle with this post. I have to admit that after skinning the fawn, removing any leftover flesh, prepping the skin with salt to remove moisture, and then processing the brain to make a paste to tan the hide, it was stolen by one of my dogs! ARGH, all that work. It was definitely disappointing. However, I was able to retrieve a piece of it and tried my hand at softening it like how we did at the camp. Unfortunately, the hide remained stiff, and it was too tiny a piece to really create anything. Sad, but willing to
Fret not, the story continues! A month later, driving home one night, I saw another dead fawn on the side of the road. I decided again to pick it up and start the process again. This time, however, instead of using the brain I used a commercial product that I read about that specifically for tanning deer hides with the on. So, I tried it and low and behold it worked!
I was able to get a soft hide with the fur on! It was supple enough to incorporate it into a bag, ensuring bambi would have new life. My final steps are to finish sewing the lining and adding a strap! If you would like to see the finished product and you are near Olean on October 12th, 2024, between 3-5 you will see the finished product on display until November at FNB studios. You can also check out (and follow) my Instagram page where I will post my progress and finished products.
It always saddened me to see this, especially the baby animals their little lives cut short. Now, I get to give them new life. This is an inspiring blog discussing the creative ways that one artist is giving new life to critters. My next project is a baby fox and a snake I found dead on the road. Stay tuned to see how those turn out! Please drive safe and watch for our critter friends.
Comments