Athabascan Moosehide Tanning & Sewing (10 of 23): Scraping Clean – an Ahtna Method

Object Details

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1,055

Video Title

Athabascan Moosehide Tanning & Sewing (10 of 23): Scraping Clean – an Ahtna Method

Description

Older generations of Alaska Athabascan (Dene) peoples tanned moose hides using time-tested methods to make strong, supple leather for sewing beaded or quill-embroidered tunics, jackets, mittens, bags and moccasins, as well as everyday essentials such as dogsled harnesses. Because traditional tanning is time-consuming and requires technical knowledge that has declined in recent generations, most moose hides are now sent out to commercial tanneries for processing with synthetic chemicals. Commercial tanning produces a lower quality hide, but more importantly, it displaces the passing on of Athabascan tanning knowledge. Recognizing this, contemporary artists Joel Isaak (Dena'ina Athabascan) and Melissa Shaginoff (Ahtna Athabascan) have been learning traditional methods for tanning moose hides from elders Helen Dick (Dena’ina Athabascan) and Jeanie Maxim (Ahtna Athabascan) and adding tested, contemporary tools. The Alaska office of the Arctic Studies Center worked with these committed artists and elders from September 2017 through June 2018 to carry out moosehide tanning work in communities and backyards in Kenai, Chickaloon, and Anchorage, and a sewing and beading residency at the Anchorage Museum. The collaboration resulted in the set of twenty-three educational videos presented here. A limited number of free DVDs are available upon request to Biddisond@si.edu or Crowella@si.edu. To learn more about Alaska Native cultures, please visit the Smithsonian Learning Lab site “Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center in Alaska” at https://learninglab.si.edu/org/sasc-ak. There you will also find more instructional video sets and also educational resources for teaching at home or in a classroom.

Video Duration

10 min 7 sec

Data Source

Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska

YouTube Channel

Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska channel

Uploaded

2019-06-11T23:14:33.000Z

Creator

Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska

Type

YouTube Videos

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Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska channel

YouTube Category

Education

Topic

Arctic Studies;Alaska;Alaska Natives;Native Art;Indigenous Art

Record ID

yt_WJNFyTohyUw

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