Chickasaw Inkana Foundation

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." Want to learn more? Click the link below!

Chickasaw.tv | Hide Brain Tanning Chickasaws Dixie and Sharon demonstrate the ancient art of hide brain tanning in this episode of Thrive: Traditions.

For thousands of years, Chickasaws have been wearing deerskin leggings and breechcloths to protect them from the elements. In this episode of Thrive: Traditions, cultural demonstrator Jason Eyachabbe explains the importance and history of these garments while making a pair of his own.

Jason began learning how to make traditional leggings from his uncle, a Chickasaw elder. "My uncle, he would say, 'It's going to take a little bit of time, so you’re going to get intimate with it.'" Jason's first pair of leggings took many hours to make, with just one leg taking a whole day of hand stitching. "It does take time to make leggings, but it's also ... a time to be patient ... to think back [to] our ancestors ... and the foundations they have built for us," Jason explains.

"Whenever I started this project, sewing my own leggings, I began to think about what it was like to live back in this time period," Jason says. When deerskin leggings were worn regularly, Chickasaws would make their own tanned deer hide and take sinew from the deer they used for food. Today, deer hide is commercially available and artificial sinew is used most often.

As Jason sews through the tough leather by hand, he thinks about his ancestors who, centuries ago, would have made the same garments in much the same way for their own children. Remembering Chickasaw ancestors and continuing ancient traditions is "showing respect to our ancestors," Jason says. "I would like to think that they are very, I would say, proud of us and how we’ve tried to carry on traditions in our modern-day world." Want to learn more? Click the link below!

Chickasaw.tv | Leggings and Breechcloths Cultural demonstrator Jason Eyachabbe explains the importance and history of traditional Chickasaw leggings while sewing a pair of his own.

Did you know that for only $50 you can join the Chickasaw Inkana Foundation as an annual "Bird Clan" member? By making a donation to the Chickasaw Inkana Foundation (CIF) you will be supporting the overall preservation, protection and interpretation of Chickasaw culture and history in the historic Chickasaw Homeland.

The annual Bird membership comes with the bi-annual newsletter, a commemorative annual CIF coin, a subscription to The Journal of Chickasaw History and Culture, and invitations to special CIF events! Click the link below to join today!

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