Cultural Craftsmanship: Raw Hide Preparation

Jayroy Makokis, from Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Alberta, explains the sacred skill of raw hide preparation and shares the tools and supplies we’ll need for fleshing and scraping.

In this episode, Jayroy demonstrates how to build the stretching frame out of lumber.

In this episode, Jayroy explains how to store a newly harvested hide if planning to freeze it, how to defrost it and how to get it ready for stretching.

In this episode, Jayroy demonstrates how to lay out the soaked hide and cut holes for lacing it to the frame.

In this episode, Jayroy demonstrates how to remove the meat and fat from the hide using a fleshing tool.

Now that the hide has dried for a week, Jayroy shows us how to scrape the hair from the other side using a hide scraper.