Cheyenne women used knives and bone scrapers to butcher animals and process their hides. The scraper in the center of this photograph has lines carved into it that indicate the number of hides scraped and tanned.

"The red background of this photo represents the Cheyenne people, and the beaded knife sheaths reflect the strength and beauty of Cheyenne grandmothers."
––Gordon Yellowman, Cheyenne chief and curator of Cheyenne Visions II

Women decorated their knife sheaths with beads, which indicated their wealth.

Bone scrapers, like the one to the right, were used to scrape and tan animal hides. Buffalo hides were used to make robes, and buckskin was fashioned into women's dresses. Rawhide was used for storage containers and parfleche bags. Today, women use metal tools or buy prepared hides instead of using a bone scraper.

Grandmothers kept their knives sharp at all times —the sharper the knife, the easier the work.

Cheyenne women used knives to butcher and skin animals and to slice meat. Very few people can still slice meat using the traditional method. Most members of the tribe will give their wild game––including deer, elk, and antelope–– to an elder woman, who slices it very thin for drying. This woman will keep some of the meat as payment for her services.

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