Buffalo Hide Cleaning: Sharing Your Gifts, Learning Together

Last month, I had the chance to travel to White Bear First Nation. I was grateful for the opportunity to join Joely Big Eagle and Lorne Kequahtooway from Buffalo People Arts Institute. They were offering individuals a chance to practice hide cleaning.

As my colleague Denomme-Welch and I drove into the yard we saw Joely and Jackie Bates finishing the work that was started the day before. The first hide was stretched and almost completed cleaned. Joely, Jackie and Lorne greeted us warmly. Spy offered tobacco to Joely and she offered us a smudge. Lorne shook our hands and explained the various tools that they were able to make or collect.

I asked Lorne, “When did you learn?” He explained that he had asked to learn last August and that he and Joely had secured some hides from a local bison ranch. Joely, explained that they had soaked the hides and that Lorne had made the frames as the work had started the day before. I said that I was grateful for the opportunity to learn.

Spy and I replaced Jackie and Joely at the frame and we began to experiment both with tools and technique. Spy found his rhythm before I did. I realized that the store bought pelt cleaning tools that I had brought were really designed for small hides, and, like Spy, I found that the cut steel pipe worked perfectly. It didn’t take long to realize how much work this was going to be. Every few minutes I sat back on my heels to take a break, my arms starting to feel the burn. We couldn’t help but admire the elk bone knife that Jackie used; it cut through the fat like it was butter. We took turns at the hide until we agreed that it was done.
As the men began to build the next frame, Jackie, Joely and I talked about how important it is to recognize the teachings that we know and that out of respect for traditional knowledge ways we must offer these lessons to others.

Joely said, “We can’t be stingy with what we know.” Joely and Jackie explained their vision for creating opportunities for others to learn together. Jackie and I laughed because we both regretted not picking up the roadkill porcupine that we had passed on our way to White Bear…we could have been cleaning quills while the men readied the next frame. Soon enough, the men were stringing the hide and the frame was ready to move into place.

I took a last sip of my tea and joined Spy at the frame with Jackie and we once again returned to our work. The time passed quickly as we made good progress on the hide. There was storytelling, and Jackie was singing softly. I was lost in the rhythm of the work. The younger children were playing around the teepee. The young men took our places as we went inside to warm ourselves, the smell of bison roast inside the house was amazing.
I am so grateful that Joely and Lorne offered to share what they know. For me, it was more than just the opportunity to learn a skill. It was about working together with a higher purpose: the reclamation and preservation of traditional knowledges. I couldn’t help but wonder how these activities would impact on the lives of the smaller children, and of the young men who played an active role in the process. One day, they too might be called to share what they know. Would they think back to this day? Would they remember the process of working with the hide and the feelings of belonging and accomplishment?

At the end of the day, Spy and I joined the family for a pipe ceremony and bison dinner. I can only speak for myself, I am grateful for generous friends. I am grateful for their willingness to share what they know so that we can all learn together. I am reminded that for the past couple of years I’ve been a bit stingy with what I know. I’ve often doubted my knowledge, and worried about how others might perceive what I have to offer. The perceptions that some carry about protocols, can often serve as limitations to those of us who are coming to learn our traditions. We need to have faith if we are guided to these teachings that somehow our time is approaching when we too will be called upon to share what we know. This weekend was a reminder that I need to share more generously.

Please take stock of your own gifts and consider the ways that you may share what you know with others. Our peoples and communities need us to work toward the preservation and revitalization of traditional knowledges. In this way, we ensure cultural continuity.

– Dr. Shauneen Pete

Dr. Shauneen Pete (Photo by Bill Stevenson)

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