Algonquin College hosts traditional deer hide tanning workshop

Ottawa’s Algonquin College is offering a hands-on look at traditional Indigenous knowledge through a tanning workshop. CTV’s Dave Charbonneau reports.

In the Ishkodewan Courtyard at Algonquin College, students and staff are learning an ancestral practice passed down through generations.

“Today we are going to be dry scraping a deer hide,” said traditional hide tanner Tammy Pizendewatch Twashi.

The Mamidosewin Centre, which supports Indigenous learners and offers cultural programs on campus, brings in knowledge keepers to share these traditional teachings.

Pizendewatch Twashi is guiding students through every step.

“What I do is I tan hides—moose and deer hides—but I do the traditional way, in terms of transforming into smoke tanned leather, by using two hands and hand tools,” she said.

The workshops show how deer and moose hides become soft, usable leather, the material behind many traditional goods.

“Traditionally, this is where our moccasins come from. It comes from the moose. It comes from the deer. Any leather goods you want to make. I like to make earrings, handbags, moccasins, vests,” said Pizendewatch Twashi.

Keon Everhardt is experiencing this work for the first time.

“I feel like it’s an amazing experience for me because I’ve never done it before, and I’m really proud to be able to show people that I’ve done this,” he said. “I feel very connected to the nature around me. And, whenever I get the chance to learn about it, I come and I participate. And it also builds a community.”

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The Mamidosewin Centre says activities like this help students learn in a way that reflects Indigenous culture and practices.

“Land-based learning is part of our mandate at the Mamidosewin Centre. And so, we do try to do this type of activity or something similar at least once or twice a year,” said events and communications officer Summer Wabasse.

“Engagements with knowledge keepers, such as Tammy Pizendewatch Twashi, today, is really a part of our community, and Algonquin College has made a real commitment to learning about Indigenous peoples, engaging with Indigenous peoples, and listening to Indigenous peoples,” said Anita Tenasco, the college’s director of Indigenous initiatives.

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As for Pizendewatch Twashi, she says the workshops help ensure traditional skills like this are passed on to future generations.

“The goal is to revitalize these teachings, so more people are learning the traditional teachings of our ancestors,” she said.