The Wampanoag Native American tribe lived in the northeastern United States. In this tribe the women were responsible for horticulture, cooking, tanning hides, sewing, basket making and taking care of the children. Of all these chores, making clothing for all members of their tribe was the most important. The women sewed moccasins, leggings, shirts, dresses, gloves, hats, jackets and all other clothing worn.
The Wampanoag had to make all their materials and supplies from everything nature gave them. There were no man-made supplies in their environment. In the process of making clothing, they used deer hide along with other skins, furs, deer bone, quahog shell, bark and antlers, stone scrapers and wood paddles.
Deer hide was the main ingredient in the Wampanoag everyday clothing. When the men came home from hunting the women would scrape off the hair and flesh from the animal skin with scrapers made of deer bone or stone. This would bring them to the hide. The deer hide was tanned with the brain of the animal by wooden paddles, which would spread and stretch the hide and work the brain into it. Once saturated, the tanning was wrung from the hide while stretched and kneaded. Hides were then cut into shape and size of clothing pieces (after there dried out – they need to be hung for a couple of days) with knives made of quahog shell. When the piece was ready, the women would make needles out of deer rib and string made of deer sinew and tendon. For special occasions, clothing might have been decorated with extra fur, beads, stones, etc..
The Wampanoag learned all of these skills from their elders. There is little evidence left of this special, traditional process. Fortunately, there are still bits and pieces of stone and carved bone that can be seen in museums.
