July 19, 2024.

We dropped by the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge looking for a place to park, make lunch and walk around. But first we went into the main building to pick up a map and see what it’s all about. A sign on the door caught my attention: Fish Week. I asked for more information at the desk, where they mentioned a fish leather workshop coming up in just a couple of hours. That gave us just enough time for a walk.

After about three miles of walking, we returned to the van. I shoveled some food in my face and ran inside, not wanting to be late. Aaron made himself a nice lunch and planned on hanging out in the van. Once the workshop got started, I encouraged him to come in and join me!

Preparing the salmon

Our instructor gave us an introduction to the process of salmon leather tanning and then walked us through the steps. She passed out a piece of fish skin to each of us. The skin had bits of flesh still attached. We then proceeded to use a spoon to scrape off as much flesh as possible, just leaving the skin behind. I was surprised at how pliable and strong the salmon skin was. I was afraid to tear it, but it was very hard to tear.

We then applied baking soda, rubbed it in and then washed the skin (if I recall correctly). So far this had all been pretty easy. Then came the next step.

She described how indigenous people traditionally worked the skins to make them supple and ready to use in a leather product. They’d sit with a wooden board sticking up between their thighs and then slide the skin back and forth along the top of the board. After spending hours of doing this, you end up with a workable piece of salmon leather.

We did not have the skill nor the time to do it the right way. So she brought out some wooden devices her father (I think) devised for our class. A base board sat on the table with a vertical board standing up on top of it, so that we could stand in front of the device and rub the skin back and forth. But there were so many people in the workshop, she ran out of these contraptions. As an alternative, she had folks work in pairs with one person holding a board as the other did the smoothing. Thus, Aaron and I worked together and took turns working our fish skins.

Almost ready

But there was one more step we weren’t prepared for. To dry the leather, she suggested stapling the skin to a board and letting it sit in a cool, dry place for multiple days. We had neither stapler, board or a place to dry leather. I didn’t want a stinky old salmon skin INSIDE the van while we were living in it. Fortunately, we had a solution.

Imagine getting a text that says, “we need to borrow a staple gun and some wood and drop off a fish skin at your house.” This is the message we sent to Aaron’s aunt, who lived just a few towns away. How lucky! We dropped by, stapled our fish skins and set them in her garage. We hung out and visited with her and her husband out on their back deck for several hours. Then we made plans to pick up the skin the following week.

It was fun to learn a new skill in a room filled with other people enjoying a craft together. The instructor was extremely knowledgeable and patient about helping each of us work through the steps. I didn’t know much about fish leather when I started the workshop. I’d first noticed fish leather in use by an artist in Fairbanks. Throughout Alaska, I’d later see many examples of contemporary and historic crafts made with fish leather in museums and gift shops.

I still haven’t made anything with my leather and I’m not sure I ever will. I don’t think we softened it quite enough and we didn’t dye it either. It still kinda smells like fish. But I gained an immense amount of respect for the artists who take the time to learn and refine the skill of fish leather crafting. It amazes me the variety of ways people have learned to use the natural resources around them.

For more information about fish leather, check out The Art of Turning Fish into Leather from Hakai Magazine.