Hide Tanning the Woods Cree Way

[@jacobwolf1670]

I've watched quite a few tanning videos, but this one takes the cake. Every other one I've seen they use salt, chemicals and modern tools. But I wondered: how did the natives do it without all these modern resources? And this video showed me. I'm very thankful to the people who made this video, for now I know how to do it. I will recommend it to anyone I know who asks. Thank You!

[@PortageCollegeAB]

Thank you very much. We're happy it was useful to you. Check out our other video on hide tanning tools, etc. You may find those interested. If you want to know more about our program you can find out more here: www.portagecollege.ca/Programs/Native-Arts-and-Culture Thanks again and have a great time tanning!

[@PortageCollegeAB]

Here's the Hide Tanning playlist we have going: kzbin.info/aero/PL_Ma9XTRSmaEdAFo8XIcQDXXmPSpdF_Md

[@aguilayserpiente]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXS5paSgqtdlY5Y

[@koltoncrane4303]

Historians don’t know everything. They don’t acknowledge the vast evidence of Spanish mines that predate father Dominguez treck through the southwest. My college professor told me there were no mines when I asked him about the prophet young getting gold from the Indians that showed him where a Spanish mine was and where there people were slaves and forced to work.

[@jolllyroger1]

@@koltoncrane4303 must historians are pushing an agenda

[@exaltedyote1505]

This is my great grandmother she was a very kind an loving person. I had no idea these videos existed its wild to see her again.

[@brabanthallen]

Gramma was a badass. Respect.

[@SableSunsets]

Absolutely amazing woman ! What a beautiful heritage

[@kennarajora6532]

It must've been really cool to stumble upon this video then.

[@islandgardener158]

Your grandmother did a lot of work to produce those hides. Very Labour intensive.

[@ricardobrasal2799]

Todo mi respeto y admiración

[@crystalelliott4791]

Proud to say Aunty Elsie gave my girl her first wrap around boots when she was born. They were worn til she of course grew out of them ♥️

[@tyroncunanan]

This is the simplest procedure anyone can understand. All people involved in this poured not just labor but all their hearts - loving of the arts and tradition. Love you all, all the way from the Philippines.

[@steviacatnip9744]

I am so impressed and amazed by the amount of work that goes into tanning hides traditionally. It sure makes you appreciate it!

[@jiskerrealz3620]

Even modern ways is very hard work if you do it by hand. Amazing how these people were and are able to do it.

[@waxwingsentertainment655]

I was lucky enough to learn this from Elsie. It was a special experience. She also taught us birch bark biting. She had one tooth and could create intricate pieces of art. She was a good teacher.

[@ROLFCOPTERZZ]

The video was produced on VHS in 1992 by an Edmonton production company and the updated DVD version was uploaded to KZbin 22 years later on April 24th, 2014. Elder Elsie's knowledge was passed to her from her mother and she passed it on to the students at the college. Mrs. Quintal passed away August 24, 2013 at the age of 97.

[@PortageCollegeAB]

Thank you for the comment! The video was produced by Image Works Alberta. They also produced "A Portrait of Learning" (kzbin.info/www/bejne/q33Sp5mbiZiIg9U) which also features the amazing Elsie Quintal.

[@bohemoth1]

When I was a child in Africa, we would use urine for tanning the hide. We use the same technique as in this video except for tanning and softening. There were no chemicals used. I now have a farm in Puerto Rico with cattle and other livestock. I am getting back into making my own clothes. Because I was taught that no part of the animal should be wasted. Thank you for posting this very informative video.

[@PortageCollegeAB]

thank you for sharing with us!

[@ChrisBrown-hr6mc]

That's awesome best of luck to you

[@TheCulturalCompass]

Respect is Due. Thank you for this wonderful video with Elder Elsie Quintal. Whole lotta LOVE

[@davidjohnson9517]

Great respect to native culture. A lot of hard work involved in producing quality products!

[@pyrofful]

Seeing this older lady go back and forth over the steel wring to soften the hides reminds me the workout bands. The rubber resistance bands that have a handle on each end where you step on the middle and pull up for a workout. Lolol. This lady gets her workout AND has something to show for it. Hahaha. Thanks for the good info on the video

[@dwalker399]

And I would not want to take a straight right from her!

[@sndman60]

Thank you. I appreciate the skills and knowledge you pass forward. Honor and respect to Métis Elder Elsie Quintal. May you be proud. May you be strong. May you be blessed.

[@faithwoodruff6809]

I love this. Thank you for posting. I miss bot my late parents as I watched this. My parents tanned many moose hides. They were an awesome team. Watching this bought back so many memories of hard work my parents, grand parents and aunts did. My mom enjoyed it. Shee took pride in her work. I too am so proud of my late parents hard work in doing this to help provide for our family. Thanks again. 🙂

[@sexyjellyfish82]

During this whole video (which I've watched several times) I kept thinking of how beautiful this lady's hands were. They were tanned and rugged and you can see that she's worked with her hands a lot in her life and can only imagine the wisdom she received in doing so. Thank you so much for sharing this video, knowledge and work that we all take for granted.

[@PortageCollegeAB]

Thank you for your kind comments! We are so happy to hear all of this. If you want to learn more, click here: portagecollege.ca/Museum/Exhibits/Hide-Tanning-Process

[@tombryant9878]

I took this course when Joe From hold was in charge. I recall many people and some not so great events. I recall Elsie threatening to shoot her "mooniow" grand daughter, and she was not fond of white people in her classes... Often she would not visit with students if they were white people, often calling people liars.

[@tombryant9878]

Not sure how she taught birch bark biting...she must have learned that from students... A good person was Adrian Hope from Kikino...

[@jahatch77]

Thank you for passing the knowledge forward I am honored to learn it.

[@brabanthallen]

I have been brain tanning deer hides for several years now. It took a few years of making mistakes to actually learn all the tricks of the trade. I had several failures early on with hides that turned out stiff, spots where it was not fleshed or de-haired properly/completely, and the biggest failure....not stretching the hide until COMPLETELY dry. The slightest bit of dampness left in the hide during the final stretching after braining and wringing, will make it dry with stiff or hard spots in it. Instead of using a frame, for deer hides I use a "fleshing beam" made out of either 8 inch PVC or some bigger pieces of polyurethane gas pipe. Even a wood beam will work. A single deer hide can take up to 8 hours of stretching and softening after the braining/wringing step. For deer hides, I used a frame to lace the hide and stretch it, but I have found (for me) the easier way is to just stretch it in my lap. Brain tanning any hide is a LOT of work, work that involves a lot of skill, and many people who do not understand the whole process don't realize how much work goes into it. The end result is a beautiful, soft hide that you become proud of once it is finished. The end result is worth all the work.

[@tardisrider25]

+brabanthallen Sounds like you should make a video. I would love to see your technique.

[@brabanthallen]

Gamemachine I might just do that at some point. There are actually some pretty decent videos already on youtube that give lots of good tips. Happy tanning!

[@tardisrider25]

Cool if you do send me a message.

[@PortageCollegeAB]

+brabanthallen Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I hope you can subscribe to our channel because we have more hide tanning videos coming that you can give your tips and tricks on. Thanks again.

[@brabanthallen]

Portage College Sure thing!

[@Domzdream]

What a process! We people are so lucky to have such an easy lavish lifestyle. We really take things for granted, without even knowing it.

[@charlesleblanc6638]

Brain tanned hides or Buckskin is exceptional material. I've Brain tanned Deer skins, which is quite a bit of work, and I can just imagine how much more work a moose hide would be. Great video.

[@mauser8515]

Beautiful human beings doing beautiful work.

[@PortageCollegeAB]

We very much agree with you. Elsie Quintal was a treasure to our community. Greatly missed.

[@PortageCollegeAB]

Mauser 85 Here is another video with Elsie Quintal: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q33Sp5mbiZiIg9U

[@jamesaritchie1]

How do you know they're beautiful human beings? Or are you just talking about how pretty they are?

[@lenasayers7086]

@@jamesaritchie1 beauty is in the eye of the beholder

[@rokhnroll]

how has this channel only got 956 subs - hidden gem of a channel thank you for sharing your skills and knowledge.I really enjoyed learning this process.

[@PortageCollegeAB]

Thanks for the comment! Feel free to share with your network :)

[@tavrosnitram1529]

damn, now I understand why those items are so sacredI never understood before and all I was ever told was "allot of work goes into making these" but I wasn't shown just *how much*

[@jamesaritchie1]

A lot of work, not allot. Completely different word, and changes the meaning of what's happening here.

[@AndrewCastellanoReal]

who makes the rules?

[@brandyschmidt7615]

I've done 2 hair on hides and one buckskin. Now I'm working on a axis buckskin. It's a lot of work. Watching videos has helped me a lot . The stretching part is the hardest because it take so long for the hide to dry .

[@corkforbrains]

Thank You Elsie Quintal.. I am completely in awe of what you are able to do with only your two hands and a fresh skin! Perhaps the hardest working woman I have ever heard of, it has been my great pleasure to watch you practicing your considerable skill! We would all do well to remember the "old practices" regardless of the culture from which they originate, for they are dwindling resources, in danger of being lost forever..

[@johnnywoodsman]

Thank you very much for making this video. I am watching as many as I can each evening after working a deer Hide I am brain tanning. My wife and I harvest several White Tail deer each hunting season and are just now starting to tan our harvests too. This one I am working on will be a rug for my smudge ceremonies.

[@roygbiv3305]

sharing the 13 steps in public is important. the industry in my contry doesnt publish any videos.

[@indoorsandout3022]

It is interesting to see it done this way. The way it is done around here is the hide is soaked in wood ash lye, the hair is removed by pulling on it, and the rest is the same except that instead of a barrel hoop, we use a peeled log set in the ground.

[@abdulalhazred3027]

This was really cool to watch. That looks like a lot of extremely hard work. Those are strong women.

[@Esuper1]

Never knew all the work. My back hurts just from watching this video.

[@nnpffc333]

This video was amazing, I never knew how much work went into tanning to this degree. It is also wonderful to see this grandmother passing on her skills. Wonderful video, Thank you.

[@anangookwewolf2449]

I’m a traditional tanner and follow almost the same exact steps, except the first smoke and the way they smoke theirs. So excited to try this method out! On another note, a hunter saved me his doe hide this past fall, but he salted it 😭

[@EC-dz4bq]

What are the positives and negatives of traditional vs non-traditional tanning?

[@justDudpool]

Don’t worry about it being salted, just soak it and change the water until it’s ready.

[@breadtoasted2269]

When I was little I always enjoyed watching my grandparents do this kind of work. Brings me back in time. Cool video!

[@chemicalmike646]

i never realised so much effort was put in to it. good vid! :D

[@robertahenakew7760]

How strong are elders were❤️ to see an old woman do such a tough task is beyond Breathtaking. I am proud to come from such people.

[@doctordoomsdaydoomsday9766]

I am Ogala Soiux Indian and I am very impressed on the detail of this video Great Job guys and Gals Awesome!

[@barneymurphy8623]

A work of art. So impressed with your native culture ! Amazing people !

[@davemellott5060]

I never realized how much labor was needed to tan a hide, the way your ancesters did. This hide would be worth a fare bit of money, and anyone interested in buying some to make some clothing with should have to watch this program before asking the price. And now when I see a chief with their beautiful coats made of tanned hide I will surly value the the hide materials a-lot more and understand how talented the people who make these items are to be able to make the hide almost white or deep brown. This is a very well done video for people to understand the value of these hand made items, and what goes into making the hide the old traditional way.

[@mr1001nights]

wow, we take all this work for granted

[@deitrestolbert4951]

Pure genius I never would have taught about recreating clothes, moccasin, drum heads..etc. How did they ever think of making these items from an animal 😮?✔️💚

[@JakeLatin77]

Thanks for putting up this video. Very good info. I was looking for traditional methods so this was great. Thanks again.

[@PortageCollegeAB]

You're very welcome! We have another video that is more recent but includes the same steps. Check out the video under our playlist for hide tanning.

[@Epiphalactic]

Holy crap. It's crazy how far we have come in leather knowledge.

[@beckireid4208]

most comprehensive tanning video I have ever watched! Thank-you so much!👍👍

[@szfehler]

What a great video! Thank you! I have some sheepskins i am tanning, and while i can't follow every step here, this helped me understand *why* certain steps are included...

[@EastTexasEquity]

Wonderful craftsmanship

[@WallaceLivingFree]

Thanks to all who made and shared knowledge in this video...

[@pengiethebird]

Wow! Beautiful work. It gives me more respect for all the hard work that goes into making moose hide clothing. Thanks for posting this.

[@PortageCollegeAB]

Our pleasure, Al! Be sure to subscribe as we'll be having more how-to videos coming in the future!

[@hicoteo]

This video left me feeling nostalgic about the history of humans. Life was very hard but it must have kept us focused on the important things.

[@johngiff2978]

Wow.... what a lot of effort and what a beautiful outcome.

[@PhillipJones5350]

incredible, so much work and knowledge. I'm blessed for this information. Thanks to all for this video and process.

[@PortageCollegeAB]

Thanks! We had this video tucked away on DVD for our students. For our online course we decided to digitize it as well as make it available to everyone.

[@0walleye0]

+Portage College we appreciate it, thank you.

[@kennethsmith1744]

Thanks I love they are still doing these things wish you the best

[@ghostcityshelton9378]

Fantastic job by fantastic people who care for and love Mother Earth & thank the sprites of the animals & use every bit of them. Thank you so much for teaching us how to this so clearly.💖

[@czthor1]

Thank you so much for sharing your heritage and knowledge with us truly an art form your culture your college your heritage everybody involved should be extremely proud. Your presentation was excellent and I gained knowledge from the skills shown.

[@cabinlife2347]

That was so informative and fascinating too. The care and skill is amazing. thanks for sharing this.

[@PortageCollegeAB]

Thank you! You can watch our updated video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKiYYXd8g7apm7M

[@danielduhaime5662]

tanned my first moose hide and I love it .it tanned nicely after its final smoke and buff

[@goalposthead79]

Wow that looks like a lot of hard work and must take a long time to master those techniques. It must be incredibly satisfying to see the finished product.

[@adamlawrence3427]

Possibly the coolest family to ever exist.

[@adreabrooks11]

Thanks so much for this! Very informative! I'm looking forward to checking out the updated video as well.

[@amandaneufield7171]

What a lovely video. Very informative.

[@damonhowell8025]

Took a long time to figure out to do that!

[@grantp4022]

That's one hella of a lot of work, and those people should be commended for what they do. They were the people that first basically invented methods to tan these hides, and they did it with basic knowledge and trial and error methods, til they got it right. I would guess that modern technology and machines took the basic process and made it a lot easier today -- but I give these hard working people a lot of credit for all their hard work, and contribution to society going forward.

[@Dovid2000]

Excellent documentary! Thanks for showing us how this is done. This has been a truly educational video!

[@ladeene06]

What wonderful information! Ive actually wondered about this since I was a child. We raised and harvested rabbit when I was young. I actually thought we were eating chicken!🤣 Anyways...we always had stacks of rabbit fur my dad sold, but they were stiff, and I always wondered about the actual steps. Ive read about it, but never seen it. Thank you whoever recorded this!! (Yes, I'm sure different animal skins vary in technique...but still.)

[@jubatimes424]

Amazing....thanks a lot...am watching from South Sudan..i want to do that nd btw i love the energy of that old woman

[@neilyakuza6595]

That is amazing!

[@badandy880]

Brilliant! Thanks for sharing.

[@boduke2522]

wow that lady tough sure proud of her and this video

[@7munkee]

I tanned a silver fox fur when I was 13. I used a wire stretching rack and salt. Learned how from a FoxFire book in the 70's

[@Dan-qt7kq]

There was - throw away,I’ll get another one- you appreciate things more when you put that much work into it.

[@SoundShinobiYuki]

I've been learning how to do hand-spinning and weaving, and it truly is amazing how much work goes into making clothes before we had modern machinery (and, why wealth in the old days was expressed through how much lace, frills, embroidery and etc. you could wear and you did NOT waste cloth or clothing). You can't put an actual sticker price on a garment when you had to raise the sheep or grow the flax/cotton/hemp/etc., process the fibre so it could be spun, spin the thousands of yards worth of tiny threads (ESPECIALLY by hand on a drop spindle, no spinning wheel!), dye the fibres, prepare the loom, weave it by hand and THEN take it off the loom and full the cloth, and finally cut and hand-sew it all together. I'm already a seamstress and it's expensive enough to charge for just the sewing-your-clothes part, WITH a modern machine and equipment.

[@tjintaku]

Wonderful video. It was so good to see the women tanning. It is my understanding that women tanned hides mainly. Wonderfully done, an explained. Thank you Elsie Quintal for sharing your skill and knowledge. It has been an honor to see your method and work!

[@PortageCollegeAB]

janet tucker Here's a lovely video done with more on Elsie Quintal: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q33Sp5mbiZiIg9U Hope you enjoy it just as much :)

[@tjintaku]

Beautiful video discussing the value of learning culture practices, and sharing Elsie's way of tanning and her students appreciation of the program of learning. Elsie any your program is treasure and a joy to watch. Thank you for sharing this.... Feel free to share any other recommendations. 

[@PortageCollegeAB]

janet tucker Thanks so much Janet. Our faculty strive to give the best experience for students. Here's another video I thought you might like. You could even try it out! Our instructor created this video for her students to study before they needed to create their own masks. They all turned out amazing. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ooK6oYOVlNGGqNU If you haven't already, please subscribe and share so you'll see our latest videos. We plan on creating much more once our students are back.

[@AbadonBelial]

lotta work, beautiful.

[@stevetaylor8446]

Amazing process, thank you for sharing

[@whatcher8151]

Grandma is a hardworkin fit as a fiddle lady. Amazing. She did more than the youngin's. I would have had a hard time keeping up.

[@northpole9311]

Great video on tanning hide....

[@cuddlebuddy88mc]

Been curious about this. Thank you for showing me. Neat.

[@1962pjh]

In the early 60's we lived way out of town. There was a large, multi-generational family of Indigenous that lived on reserve about two miles from our property. My dad was alcoholic and well, so were the neighbour's men folk. Whatever extra we had, my mom would give, and visa-versa. Mom would take the gun with her to the barn to milk the cow. One morning she shot a deer and as the women were passing by, she offered it to them. They were so pleased that about six months later, they presented her with the most beautiful deer skin jacket, with beadwork on the cuffs and hem. After a few years, my mom could not put up with domestic abuse and isolation so, she left my father and we moved to Vancouver with me, and my 6 siblings. Unfortunately, my eldest sister became a budding hippy in the late sixties and wore that beautiful coat to the beach. The tide came in and ruined it. As far as I know, it has been in my middle sister's closet for the past 40 years. I always loved the story behind it. Women supporting each other in hard times.

[@SoundShinobiYuki]

That's not too unlike how I grew up for several years, except it was the 90's! My Mom divorced my bio dad when I was 6 or 7 and remarried a man who had lived for years with the Tenanna natives in the Yukon and had also previously been married to an Ojibwe woman. He moved us out to a remote homestead (unfortunately also turning out to be abusive and isolating...) that was close to a Mohawk reserve. Along with going foraging and fishing and syruping and such, we had all kinds of beautiful handicrafts both bought and gifted. I had moccasins (and I still wear them, nothing better for slippers and garden shoes! I always source them from indigenous makers), a buckskin bag that I only finally had to throw out last year because it had rotted too much after a decade in the attic, beautifully made traditional snowshoes and boots to wear with them that were beaded and trimmed in rabbit tassels- for the traditional snowshoes you couldn't actually wear modern shoes with them!, sweatgrass wreaths and baskets all over the house, a beaded headband that I would stuff full of all the prettiest feathers I found in the woods (not exactly appropriate nowadays, but I WAS a little kid who thought feather headresses were the coolest thing ever), I had a traditional brush tepee for a playhouse, and Mom also had a gorgeous buckskin jacket with flower embroidery on it. Sadly, mice got into it and destroyed it.

[@sgt1terrence]

@@SoundShinobiYuki As a native american, shoshone bannock, I dont mind if you wear it. Just dont do what the hippie sister did. I dont mind but my natives are too radicalized right now to accept your love for us. I'm trying my best to speak with them. I'm glad you ladies appreciate what we do..please go to a pow wow and participate in a round dance..I also admire what your people did. Explored the world and created this great country. So I thank all the gods and our white fathers for bringing us together so we can appreciate and meet each other.

[@brandyschmidt7615]

I've done 2 hides it's not easy . But I love doing it. I'm working on a axis buckskin now . I have a great respect for the Indian way .

[@mickerdoodle51]

Thank you. very informative.

[@helenladouceur3137]

My auntie Elsie Quintal miss you auntie

[@PortageCollegeAB]

+Helen Ladouceur We here at the college miss her as well. She was an amazing woman.

[@kmerkingdomfilms]

Thanks for sharing.

[@robertlambert7736]

That is some major repetitive work. I have alot of respect for that. Imagine making clothes for an entire tribe. So much work went into the basics of it. No wonder the clothing makers added all the decoration to it. A true compliment to absolute craft.

[@irenebrown645]

WOW, I HAVE A NEW RESPECT FOR HIDES.

[@shirlshuskies4158]

Amazing this is highly educational thank you for making this video looks like a lots of hard work. but im ready to do this with my moose hide.

[@michaelpcooksey5096]

Great job. Lot of hard work. Great result

[@mattmoore1311]

I've used a similar method to tan elk hide. I did pick up a few things though. It's a lot of work :). I think deer would be easier to learn on, but elk is what I had. Thanks for posting this.

[@kamnovak5268]

fascinating that the cree had fabric softener

[@uptopmikep7065]

Amazing video. Thank you for this lesson.

[@pamdobbs606]

thank you...thank was amazing. very interested in trying it out.

[@markgreer4201]

loved it,great video.

[@beryean1366]

Cool, i'll give a try. Bring back the tradition.

[@PortageCollegeAB]

+BN ANDRSIN Please subscribe to our channel for more videos we will have for our Native Arts and Culture programs. Good luck with your tanning!

[@wildwildwests]

Thanks so much! Learning some new methods..Starting to do a LOT & sell at fur auctions. Great video..Thank you! :)

[@vieuxacadian9455]

Thank You so much !

[@monicamonica4227]

I used to see my grandma working on these growing up. I wish I had a chance to do this too, someone to teach me.

[@jenjen4jesus939]

AWESOME video!!!!

[@tamersoysal6384]

Thank you for this wonderful lesson. I am from Turkey. In the past we, the Turks used to do the same I guess.

[@12234nic11234]

Very interesting thanks for sharing this

[@shaynajacob8989]

This is amazing

[@PhantomQueenOne]

That looks exhausting!

[@jawadkazmi8856]

GOD BLESS, wow what a great explanatory description in detail, just what beginners like us need. Insha'Allah (GOD WILLING) we will be able to use this information in practicality. Thank you.

[@PortageCollegeAB]

Thanks! Glad we can help. There is a lot more that you can learn from our instructors that teach hands-on. Check out our program if you're interested: www.portagecollege.ca/Programs/Native-Arts-and-Culture

[@jamesaritchie1]

Try just saying "God Willing" and not showing off, or betraying what God Willing even means.

[@bojanglez4855]

Beautiful

[@captbob1494]

Beautifull i will try with our wild boar here in Laos thanks a lot

[@doaparviz6430]

great job.

[@kathywedzik4905]

Fascinating