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Fallon craftsman makes good use of deer skins he tans himself
Dave Rice, RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
10/14/2003
With Nevada’s deer hunting season in full swing, Wesley Dick of Fallon is a very busy man. This is the time of year he collects the most important component of what he thinks of as a trade, but which most would view as the work of an artist.
From the skins of animals — mostly deer — that he preserves in the manner used by his Paiute ancestors, the self-taught artisan makes moccasins, baby cradle boards and a number of clothing items. Items that are not meant for show or display in collections, but for actual use by his family and others in daily life and ceremonial dance functions throughout the state.
His annual goal is to collect approximately 300 deer hides from successful deer hunters who wish to donate the part of their harvest which is usually left in the field with other inedible parts of the animal. He works hard each year to get the word out to hunters in hopes they will contact him and donate the skin of their animal. He will even travel to someone’s home and skin a person’s deer for free if they will donate the skin. In addition, he visits many butcher shops in northern Nevada and skins any deer for free that hunters have left for processing.
I met Dick last weekend when he came through Reno on his way to a meat market to skin a number of deer. He brought with him some finished deer hides and a number of items made from hides he processed. After a lengthy process that may take up to two or three weeks, Dick ends up with a deer hide that is, as he describes it, “Soft and spongy, almost like cotton.”
The material is incredibly soft, much softer than skins processed commercially and softer than most clothing material.
The 37-year-old Paiute Indian was born in Schurz, but has spent most of his life on the Stillwater Paiute-Shoshone Indian Reservation east of Fallon. Dick began producing tanned deer hides about seven years ago, taking over the duty shortly after the death of a friend, Cy Hicks, who tanned hides for many years.
“People I talked to were worried about where they would get hides after Cy passed away. I thought about it and decided to learn how to do it myself,” Dick said.
He said that he feels a strong obligation to maintain the traditions of the Paiute people and keep them alive for future generations. He believes the heritage of the Paiute can only be maintained if his people learn and then pass along the tribe’s culture.
In the last five years, Dick has processed more than 300 hides in a traditional method without the use of any chemicals like lye which is used in the commercial processing of animal skins.
“When I first tried (tanning) I ruined some skins, got close a few times, and then ruined some more. Then, all of a sudden, I accomplished one,” he said.
The first step of the lengthy tanning process involves soaking the skins in water for up to three days to kill the ticks. He continues to soak the skins in fresh water only until the hair begins to slip or fall off. The remaining hair is then scraped off along with any remaining fat and flesh.
Next, the skin is hung and allowed to dry until just damp, then stretched. A mixture made from boiling animal brains — deer, beef, lamb or pig — in water is then rubbed into the skin, which is then allowed to dry in the sun.
This step is repeated at least two times by Dick, sometimes more depending on many factors including the weather, thickness of the skin and how busy he is at his job as a dry wall finisher.
According to Dick, the addition of the brain mixture, used by many Native American cultures to tan animal hides, acts to soften, preserve and whiten the animal skin.
“I have been told that the more brain mixture used, the whiter the skin will be,” Dick said.
The skin is stretched and allowed to dry until it is barely damp, then the hard work begins. The skin is worked, an intensive and often exhaustive process of stretching and pulling the skin over a cottonwood stretching post. If all goes well and Dick is satisfied with the material’s softness, it is ready to be lightly colored by smoking. If not, it receives another treatment of brain solution, drying in the sun and stretching. He said he once counted 1,800 separate movements of the skin over the post to get it to the proper softness.
The epidermis is then removed by light scraping with a knife, followed by coloring with smoke from cedar bark, another involved and lengthy process. Paiute tradition calls for a light golden tan color. The skin is then ready to be made into many items.
Dick has taught himself to make moccasins, with or without intricate bead designs, but he also re-soles many pairs for people on the reservation. Although he sells some of his completed products like cradle boards and moccasins, some are traded for products like willow sticks for cradle boards and many items are given away.
“I never know, but my rewards come to me in many ways,” he said.
His wife and children participate in traditional dances at powwows and other Indian celebrations and he makes their traditional clothes, bird feather fans, hair pieces and other items from his deer hides.
Those who would like to donate deer, antelope, elk or other animal skins can contact Dick at his home in Fallon at 423-8681. His work will also be displayed in a special exhibit at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City in the near future.
Dave Rice retired in 2001 after 30 years with the Nevada Division of Wildlife, 25 years as chief conservation officer. He can be reached at thomascreek@worldnet.att.net.
Dave Rice, RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
10/14/2003
With Nevada’s deer hunting season in full swing, Wesley Dick of Fallon is a very busy man. This is the time of year he collects the most important component of what he thinks of as a trade, but which most would view as the work of an artist.
From the skins of animals — mostly deer — that he preserves in the manner used by his Paiute ancestors, the self-taught artisan makes moccasins, baby cradle boards and a number of clothing items. Items that are not meant for show or display in collections, but for actual use by his family and others in daily life and ceremonial dance functions throughout the state.
His annual goal is to collect approximately 300 deer hides from successful deer hunters who wish to donate the part of their harvest which is usually left in the field with other inedible parts of the animal. He works hard each year to get the word out to hunters in hopes they will contact him and donate the skin of their animal. He will even travel to someone’s home and skin a person’s deer for free if they will donate the skin. In addition, he visits many butcher shops in northern Nevada and skins any deer for free that hunters have left for processing.
I met Dick last weekend when he came through Reno on his way to a meat market to skin a number of deer. He brought with him some finished deer hides and a number of items made from hides he processed. After a lengthy process that may take up to two or three weeks, Dick ends up with a deer hide that is, as he describes it, “Soft and spongy, almost like cotton.”
The material is incredibly soft, much softer than skins processed commercially and softer than most clothing material.
The 37-year-old Paiute Indian was born in Schurz, but has spent most of his life on the Stillwater Paiute-Shoshone Indian Reservation east of Fallon. Dick began producing tanned deer hides about seven years ago, taking over the duty shortly after the death of a friend, Cy Hicks, who tanned hides for many years.
“People I talked to were worried about where they would get hides after Cy passed away. I thought about it and decided to learn how to do it myself,” Dick said.
He said that he feels a strong obligation to maintain the traditions of the Paiute people and keep them alive for future generations. He believes the heritage of the Paiute can only be maintained if his people learn and then pass along the tribe’s culture.
In the last five years, Dick has processed more than 300 hides in a traditional method without the use of any chemicals like lye which is used in the commercial processing of animal skins.
“When I first tried (tanning) I ruined some skins, got close a few times, and then ruined some more. Then, all of a sudden, I accomplished one,” he said.
The first step of the lengthy tanning process involves soaking the skins in water for up to three days to kill the ticks. He continues to soak the skins in fresh water only until the hair begins to slip or fall off. The remaining hair is then scraped off along with any remaining fat and flesh.
Next, the skin is hung and allowed to dry until just damp, then stretched. A mixture made from boiling animal brains — deer, beef, lamb or pig — in water is then rubbed into the skin, which is then allowed to dry in the sun.
This step is repeated at least two times by Dick, sometimes more depending on many factors including the weather, thickness of the skin and how busy he is at his job as a dry wall finisher.
According to Dick, the addition of the brain mixture, used by many Native American cultures to tan animal hides, acts to soften, preserve and whiten the animal skin.
“I have been told that the more brain mixture used, the whiter the skin will be,” Dick said.
The skin is stretched and allowed to dry until it is barely damp, then the hard work begins. The skin is worked, an intensive and often exhaustive process of stretching and pulling the skin over a cottonwood stretching post. If all goes well and Dick is satisfied with the material’s softness, it is ready to be lightly colored by smoking. If not, it receives another treatment of brain solution, drying in the sun and stretching. He said he once counted 1,800 separate movements of the skin over the post to get it to the proper softness.
The epidermis is then removed by light scraping with a knife, followed by coloring with smoke from cedar bark, another involved and lengthy process. Paiute tradition calls for a light golden tan color. The skin is then ready to be made into many items.
Dick has taught himself to make moccasins, with or without intricate bead designs, but he also re-soles many pairs for people on the reservation. Although he sells some of his completed products like cradle boards and moccasins, some are traded for products like willow sticks for cradle boards and many items are given away.
“I never know, but my rewards come to me in many ways,” he said.
His wife and children participate in traditional dances at powwows and other Indian celebrations and he makes their traditional clothes, bird feather fans, hair pieces and other items from his deer hides.
Those who would like to donate deer, antelope, elk or other animal skins can contact Dick at his home in Fallon at 423-8681. His work will also be displayed in a special exhibit at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City in the near future.
Dave Rice retired in 2001 after 30 years with the Nevada Division of Wildlife, 25 years as chief conservation officer. He can be reached at thomascreek@worldnet.att.net.
