Animal skins served a variety of functions in traditional Blackfoot culture; notably in the production of clothing, shelter and containers. Before the skins could be used they had first to be scraped. This work was done by women, employing scrapers made of antlers with stone or steel blades. A woman would frequently record the number of skins she had scraped by making a notch on her scraper. This scraper has a steel blade which is held in place by a leather thong.
Courtesy: National Museum of Man, National Museums of Canada
