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• Cheyenne artist
• About 1850
• Antler, hide, and metal file
• Gift from Royal B. Hassrick, 1953.493.

A tool like this one was used by Indigenous peoples living on the Northern Plains or in the Great Lakes regions to prepare buffalo hides for use in clothing, moccasins, and tipis among many other things. Indigenous peoples often carved small dots or lines on the handle of their scrapers to indicate the number of hides processed. This item has a metal blade, but earlier examples were made from antler, bone, stone, or wood. Metal blades were incorporated into the ends of these tools as Indigenous peoples traded with settlers.