Video Details

Uses of the Deer--LaVan Martineau Family

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Episodes:

• Hide Tanning, Quillwork and Other Native Crafts

  LaVan Martineau speaks to a class of children at Todd School in Roosevelt, Utah about hide tanning, quillwork and other native crafts. He shows the class deer hide, antelope hide, moose hide and elk hide, explaining how the various sizes and weights are used to make different items. He shows a number of items that have been decorated with the quills of porcupines and explains how everything from rocks, berries and even insects can be used to dye quills and hides. He ends by explaining that his daughters still make things with awls, instead of needles, because if you learn how to make it the hard way first, then nothing is hard.

  Length:	00:04:33

• Native American Hide Tanning - Hair Removal

  Native American craftswoman Doreena Martineau illustrates the hair removal process in hide tanning by scraping the hair and epidermis from the leg of a deer. Propping the leg of a deer against a trailer, she demonstrates how to scrape away the hair. She explains that in the process she is also removing the epidermis She also explains that the draw knife must be quite dull (so as not to damage the skin) and explains that a horse's rib was used for this job in earlier times.

  Length:	00:01:42

• Native American Hide Tanning - Stretching the Hide

  Native American craftswomen and sisters, Doreena Shannondoah and Georgetta Martineau, stretch a deer hide as part of the tanning process. Doreena removes and then returns the twisted deer hide to the pole and gives it a final wring. Then with help from her sisters, Shannondoah and Georgetta, she stretches the hide as it dries. She explains that using a stick to twist the hide opens the pores of the hide so they will accept the deer brains that will soon be spread over them to chemically "tan" the hide.

  Length:	00:01:44

• Native American Hide Tanning - Washing the Hide

  Native American craftswoman Doreena Martineau washes a deer hide as part of the tanning process. She washes it in a bowl of water and then twists it against a pole, using a stick, to wring out all of the water.

  Length:	00:01:14

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