Love Letter to the Realeather Scrap Bag

 

Sometimes, the ability to follow the principles of one's culture comes in surprising forms. For example, in my case, I can follow old principles of my culture through the use of the Realeather Scrap Bag. 

Something that is very important to the Lakota people is the idea of minimizing waste. In our ways, to take from the environment must be meaningful in order for one's life to be worthy and honorable in existence. In the old days, before colonization and reservation life, the Lakota hunted the buffalo across the northern plains region of North America. To us, these animals were some of the most sacred because they allowed us to live, and we were thankful to them before all else. We understood that without their continued existence, we too would cease to exist. 

These beliefs of the duality of our existences resulted in deep parts of our spiritual beliefs. We understood the necessity of preserving the species that were so sacred and important to us. To kill a pregnant buffalo was taboo. To kill a buffalo that was past a certain age and therefor an elder of their animal herd was taboo. To kill a buffalo for only the meat or fur, taking these parts and leaving the rest to rot or be wasted was taboo, and all of these acts were punishable with the worst that the old tribes could come up with: abandonment. The tribes of the upper plains existed as well-oiled human machines, with many parts and cogs that were totally necessary to survive. One cannot raise a tipi or hunt a buffalo without the help of others, and in this way, one who is alone cannot survive. Most times, when these crimes occurred, the tribe would pack up and leave the taboo individual overnight. Most times, those who had wasted or committed such a crime would die of exposure and never be mentioned by tribal members again, for the high crime of disrespecting the animals who we held so sacred and dear to us. 

Chart depicting some of the uses of the buffalo

While the buffalo were some of the most sacred beings, these principles extended to all live beings that allowed for us to thrive and survive in the old days. Now, in the modern day, there is less need for me to know how to skin or tan a hide, but I still do use animal products. I understand that when it comes to the leather or animal product industry, it can be somewhat difficult to adhere to ethical practices. However, working with leather is an important part of my art and cultural identity, so finding a way to ethically participate in the leather industry was very important to me. 

This is where I found the Realeather Scrap Bag. The company Realeather (based out of Indiana) supplies businesses with leather goods like lacing, buckskin, leatherworking tools and kits to learn how to work with leather to make various materials and products. While their selection is good, I have never purchased anything beyond their beautiful, amazing, perfect industrial leather scrap bag. 

The grab bags are sold for fifteen dollars at stores like Joann's and Hobby Lobby, and contain the scraps cut from the larger pieces of leather that go into their other products as a form of recycling. Since it is important for me to follow my cultural practices, this is a way to do so in the modern world. I use leather for a majority of my beadwork and regalia-making, for backing, fringe, and many other aesthetic purposes. This is a way to support sustainability, as these pieces may otherwise be thrown away, since they are sometimes cut into awkward pieces or have marks that would make them otherwise unfit to sell. Luckily, in my usage, these marks and visual problems as well as awkward shapes most often do not cause an issue for me in my own artworks. 

In the small chance that someone is after some good-quality leather cut into awkward pieces, I encourage you to search out a place where the Realeather scrap bags are sold! You can help minimize the amount of animal waste, and get some pretty cool pieces in the meantime. 

Here is the link to their website where you can look at their products, but you'll have to find a store nearby to you in order to actually purchase: 

Realeather Scrap Bag