buckskins

Buckskin is a soft, durable leather made from deer hide, prepared by traditional tanning methods such as brain tanning or bark tanning. The term also refers to a pale yellow-brown color similar to deer hide. Buckskin can be left with the hair on (hair-on buckskin) or processed to remove the hair (hair-off buckskin).

Historically, buckskin was a common material among Indigenous peoples across North America for clothing and gear, including shirts, leggings, moccasins, vests, and bags. It is prized for its light weight, breathability, and relative ease of maintenance. The brain-tanning process, which uses the animal’s brains and fats to tan the hide, yields a very soft, pliable leather that remains flexible, while bark tanning can produce a sturdier finish. Natural dyes were often used to color buckskin.

In North American history, buckskin clothing and gear were widely adopted by fur traders, voyageurs, explorers, and frontier settlers in the 18th and 19th centuries, partly for practicality and partly for cultural associations. Today, buckskin remains used in traditional crafts, Western-style apparel, and decorative items, as well as in some upholstery and fashion applications. The term continues to describe both the material and its characteristic light tan hue.