Kaniksu Folk School offers traditional sheepskin tanning workshop

By Reader Staff

The Kaniksu Folk School, a project of the Kaniksu Land Trust, has announced what it described as the group’s “most ambitious class yet.” Over four days, participants will take a fresh sheepskin and transform it into a beautiful and functional piece to decorate their homes and warm cold feet for years to come.

In the words of instructor and master tanner Rain Gorenc, “The traditional method of brain tanning is the art of breathing life back into the skin of an animal whose spirit has passed on. It is intended to create a soft, supple leather that moves and stretches the same way it would when the animal was alive.

“Though the process can take on many forms, the concept was used by many traditional cultures around the world,” he added.

Most sheepskin rugs available in the U.S. market have been tanned with chromium salts, which are toxic to humans. Meanwhile, according to Human Rights Watch, many tanneries producing cheap leather are also guilty of human rights abuses against their workers.

Traditional brain tanning methods are cleaner and safer, using the matter from an animal’s brain mass in a practice that was mainly employed by Indigenous North American peoples. It is a quick process, relative to many other methods of tanning, only taking a few days and requires little technical effort while producing an especially soft leather end product. What’s more, it does not result in any chemical byproducts.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to learn an ancestral skill and come home with a beautiful, naturally tanned sheepskin rug,” organizers stated.

The four-day class will introduce participants to the art of brain tanning and each person will leave with a finished fur-on sheepskin that, if properly cared for, can be enjoyed for a lifetime.

The class is intended for adults, though children 12 years and older may enroll with a parent or guardian. Participants who wish to work together on one hide may split an enrollment. The fee is $450 for four days: Friday, July 21-Monday, July 24, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. each day

The course will be located at the Sled Hill Barn located at the base of Pine Street Woods (11735 W. Pine St., in Sandpoint).