Hide Brain Tanning

Season 6 • Episode 3

Chickasaw Culture Keepers

Hide brain tanning is an ancient art form kept alive by Chickasaws like Dixie Brewer and Sharon Postoak. In this episode, they demonstrate step-by-step how Chickasaws throughout time have created tanned leather.

The first step of the process is hunting the animal, then removing its skin. Every part of the animal has a use, from the antlers to the hooves. Food, shelter, tools, shoes, clothing and musical instruments all were made from various parts of the animal, and tanned leather was essential for creating many of these items.

Next, the hide is prepared to be dipped in the solution, then stretched and dried on the wooden frame. Chickasaws today may use tools made from modern materials, but the type of tools are nearly the same as those used in ancient times. "Our ancestors would have had very similar tools ... if it [the scraper] was made out of flint or bone, it would've looked pretty much the same," says Dixie.

The final product is a bright white, traditionally crafted buckskin that some may choose to smoke, which gives the hide a layer of waterproofing and a deep golden color. "There are not a lot of people that still do this art form ... you can go out and buy a commercial hide and it just doesn’t mean as much as a hide you've completed yourself," Dixie explains.

Learning the traditional tanning method is not only rewarding, but it also ensures the art form is not lost to time. "This is the way of our ancestors and we need to pass this down to the younger generation," says Sharon. "This connects the young ones to the traditional ways of doing things and helps them to understand where they came from."

EPISODES

3m 30s

Hide Brain Tanning

EPISODES

Pottery

Stickball Sticks

Beading

Regalia

Metalsmithing

Shell Carving

Weaving

Horticulture

Baskets

Traditional Foods

Quilting

Flutes

Beaded Collars

Drum Making

Storytelling

Bow Making

Brent Greenwood Art

Beaded Jewelry

Flint Knapping

Stomp Dancing

Beadwork

Turkey Calls

Traditional Stories: How Day and Night Were Divided

Woodturning

Bead Artisan

Textile Art

Quilt Making

Jewelry

The Legacy of Bow Making

Bead Artistry

Painting

Woven Mats

Metalworking

Photography

Pashofa

Deer Toe Shakers

Stickball Sticks

Shell Carving

Medicine Bags

Natural Dyes

Twinning

Bladesmithing

Fish Nets

Porcupine Quillwork

Pottery Burnishing

Shell Carving

Duck Decoys

Traditional Arrows

Fine Gourd Art

Traditional Flutes

Turtle Pottery

Turtle Shell Shakers

Pucker Toe Moccasins

Chunkey

Tattoos and War Paint

Leggings and Breechcloths

Hide Brain Tanning

River Cane Harvesting, Splitting and Peeling