October 21,1983 Page 7
Page 6 October 21,1983
Legacy lives in hand-tanned buckskin
Like her mother and her father’s mother, she is
seldom far from the tannery next to the river.
Spending many hours there, she turns rough, stiff
hides into soft, beautiful buckskin. This is what her
mother taught her to do.
But, unlike her mother and women before her,
Lucinda Green spends most of her day at a job in
Warm Springs, then comes home after work and
really gets to work.
Besides daily chores, Lucinda busily tans hides,
gathers roots and picks berries.“That’s the. Indian
way,” she says. “We should all know how to do these .
things.”
Tanning hides, though, is her specialty. With
devotion, Lucinda works on hides producing highly-
valued buckskin. The tanned hides bring extra
income to her household, but more than that, they
bring pride. “I always feel proud of myself for
learning how to do it. I can say I know how to make
buckskin.”
But keeping this art alive is a difficult task.
Lucinda feels it is slipping away because it is not
taught to the young. Some Women are unable to
teach their children because they don’t know how it
is done.
“The women that do know how to do it don’t take
the time to teach their kids. It’s a dying thing.”
Lucinda explains. “A lot o f kids don’t even know
you’re tanning a hide.” She adds, “Everyone will
need buckskin at some time.”
In an attempt to remedy this lack of knowledge in
the hide tanning process, Lucinda now teaches
Women how to tan hides. She works with them from
the time they bring their elk or deer hides to her to <•
the time these same stiff hides become soft, pliable
buckskin.;
Initially, Lucinda emphasizes the tedious and long
hours involved in working the hide. It must be Clean,
scraped thoroughly, or the effort will be fruitless.
The many hours of labor and care spent on a hide
will show results.
Through the steps of scraping the hide, soaking it
in a brain solution and poking the hide to soften it,
Lucinda guides the students, encôu aging them.
Even in their absence, she’ll often visit the tannery to
ring the hide, making certain the solution is working.
Elation is felt when the hide has been transformed
into buckskin, as soft to touch as cotton. A little
color from the smoke of alder chips and it’s finished.
This is the Indian way of tanning hides. It is
something that should be taught, Lucinda feels.
“Young parents should be teaching their kids. They
don’t think it’s important.”
Lucinda remembers her mother sitting on the
ground in the tannery tending the coals used for
smoking thé finished buckskin. Now she sits there in
her place, recalling her mother, using the same stone
and frame to soften the hides that her mother did
arid employing all the skills patiently taughther. She
softly says, “I grew up in this tannery.”
After stringing hide onto a frame, instructor Lucinda Green begins poking at it to soften and
stretch it. tanner must work hard and fast to soften hide before it dries.
SIMM
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Hides are soaked in a brain solution during which time it is wrung
often and stretched with hands enabling the solution to work into
the hide.
■■H
Wringing the hide rids it of excess moisture, hide, then, is ready for framing.
I S O
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Scraping hides is d time-consuming, arduous task but the resulting buckskin is well
worth it. Cathy Eagleheart scrapes with a draw knife, careful to avoid cutting the
hide. Hide is then hung to dry for a few days.
I ■ H H H H R
For a smoke, brown color, hot coals are deposited into a ground p it and watched
continuously while the hide is draped over it in teepee fashion. The hide is removed
when desired color is obtained.
Spjlyay Tymoo photos and text by Marsha Shewczyk
Student Sabrena Boyd pulls hide from river where it has soaked and been cleaned
by river action. It soaks until hair slips off easily.