Rawhide Ramblings

Creativeness and the love of learning new things is something that has deep roots in many of my family members. Some years ago my husband had the longing to try to make some parfleche items (items made from raw hide). Parfleche is a French word the trappers and traders used to describe these items, not what the Native Americans themselves called them. Obviously, there are not many books on this at the local library, and it was back in the days before so much information was available online. So after doing what research he could on line and acquiring some gorgeous adult “picture” books on  parfleched items.  He was ready to try his hand at making something.   He made a knife sheath which I thought turned out rather cool. Remember I am not biased or anything, just a loving, supportive wife. lol

He also studied about and made one flat case with long braintan fringe (Probably reserved for special items) , one parleche envelope (Though these were usually made in pairs from the rump of the animal.) These were his first attempts and they have traveled to different events to be shared with people, but  those who I love sharing the history about them  most  are children.  Opening the envelope up and explaining that this would have been like a suitcase that they might of traveled with or kept their possessions in, and then asking the children how many of their toys and treasures would it hold really awakes a child’s visual image of differences between the mass of possessions we accumulate today to the few and dear things treasured in the past. I always tell them to look for the parfleche items in the old pictures. Explaining that sometimes they will be leaning up against something and sometimes stacked up so you only see them from the side.

Rawhide can come from different animals. My husband used cow, however I do have one small flat case that he made from Caribou raw hide.  It is much softer. My research has told me that  buffalo rawhide is much more pliable then cow and would have made better envelopes and flat cases. (I hope to some day actually feel the difference with my own hands.) Sadly, once the Native American people were confined and no longer had access to the buffalo they started making rawhide trunks and boxes from cow hides. (The quality of their work was still amazing!) This is probably the result of two things. One, the cow raw hide available to them was much stiffer and worked better for trunks and boxes, and two, they were forced to leave their nomadic style of life which benefited by the use of the flat cases and envelopes instead of the rectangle shaped boxes and trunks.

I can't say that my husband ever got into making many prafleche items, but the few he did make encouraged me to learn the history about them, and appreciate the work that went into them. When I study the pictures of the original parfleche work I marvel at the artistic ones (usually women) who found a way to bless their world with beautiful, personalized, and useful items.

According to the book The American Indian Parfleche by Gaylord Torrence: "These beautiful containers are most closely associated and probably originated with the peoples of the Great Plains, where they were integral to the nomadic way of life, providing a means to store and transport a family's food and possessions. They were made by women from more than forty tribes..."

Note: I am not Native American. I live in the Eastern part of the United States of American. I love history and have done some research on the Parfleche items used is the west, however I am limited to what knowledge I can find in books so if you have better knowledge about any of these items or know how to link me up with a more accurate source of knowledge please share with me. I am always learning, and am very much aware that some of what is recorded in the old books is not always labeled and described correctly.

                                                 
                                                             A mini one just for fun.