Fish…

The fish leather that I make is made from Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon. The fish is skinned- skin is often removed from fish during processing and disposed of as waste -though many people leave the skin on and value it for nutritional purposes. I then use a traditional tanning method to cure the skin into leather. Wild berries or Organic vegetables are then juiced and used to dye this Wild Alaska salmon product. The leather is then dried, hand-worked until supple, and applied as trim or accent on select rattles. It’s a lot of work, but the leather is hardy and beautiful.

Fur…

The fur I utilize is sustainably, ethically, and legally harvested in Alaska; I have never purchased furs from unknown sources. Some of the fur is brain-tanned at home using traditional methods.

The moose foreleg in the attached pictures was legally harvested in a hunt and this raw material would normally be left in the field as waste after dressing out the animal; I choose to harvest and process this raw material into a beautiful hand-crafted product.

Many of my rattles depict mammals that are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Act includes all marine mammals in USA waters: whales, sea otters, polar bears, seals and others. Please do not ask for any protected or permitted fur or animal parts to be incorporated into or to be used as trim on Soul Shine Rattles, as we are not permitted for their use.

Feathers…

People often ask if I apply feathers to a rattle. the simple answer is no, I do not use avian feathers or avian products in my rattles. While there are a lot of feathers available online, buying bird products goes against the grain of natural harvesting. Additionally, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act has an extensive list of birds that are protected. Click the link below to learn more.

I am a member of Alaska Trappers Association (ATA). The trappers of Alaska are a great resource for education, history, ethics, sustainability and environmental stewardship. All of my purchased furs are sourced in Alaska and exclusively purchased from active members of ATA. Click below for a link to the Alaska Trapper’s Association.