Traditional moosehide tanning skills passed on in Whitehorse workshop

Moosehide tanning is one of the fundamental practices of Yukon Indigenous people. They've been doing it for thousands of years, and passing the skills down from generation to generation.

It's an important tradition to maintain the culture, but only a few know how to do it. 

That's why Margaret Douville, originally from Teslin, Yukon, wants to share the knowledge with others.

"I always like to pass my knowledge on 'cause I'm not gonna be here forever," she said.

Douville learned this traditional practice from her grandparents when she was 13 years old.

She recalls the moment her grandfather called her Tlingit name, Watsi, meaning little doll, from across her family home and asked her to sit down and watch.

"I thought I was in trouble," she said.

Douville said the best way to learn is by watching and doing.

"It's not like a book reading, because who's gonna read a book and then run back and forth? You cut this much off and then you go run back. By the time you finish reading that book, your moosehide is gonna dry up," she said.

Many years later, she is now teaching others how to do it — a role her elders had hoped for her.

"I was thinking about my grandfather, he said, 'Maybe one day you are going to be a big shot.' What he was trying to tell me is 'You're going to be the next teacher.' And it really hit me," said Douville.

Douville said her first moosehide tanning took her 17 days and it looked like a fish net from all the holes she had cut into the hide. Her grandparents welcomed it as a learning opportunity.

"Gunałchéesh [thank you] grandpa, grandma and all my ancestors for teaching me. For teaching me and for passing on your knowledge to me."

Douville, also known as Moosehide Margaret, has been teaching and learning the traditional practice in multiple Indigenous communities across the North.