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Clothing & Jewelry

Traditional Hide Tanning: Brain Tanning

Course Overview

Don’t throw that deerskin away! You can turn it into soft, washable buckskin for clothing, bags or beadwork. To turn the deer hide into an incredibly durable, breathable fabric you'll learn to brain tan, a method that has been used for centuries around the world. In four days you’ll scrape soaked hides, apply tanning mixture, smoke the hides and leave with a beautiful, finished skin that can be made into a number of objects. Other methods of traditional tanning will be discussed, including bark tanning, and the tanning of locally caught fishskins. Hide tanning is a very basic, hands-on, transforming process. You'll find yourself deeply engaged as you contemplate how humans manipulate their environment and resources to meet everyday needs for clothing, shelter, tools, and more.

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