The processing of large animal hides such as deer or moose for fur robes or leather was a very important part of early Native living, and still remains an important link to the culture of the past.

Once the hide was removed from the animal, the worker had to remove the hair from the outer layer of the skin, and then scrape all of the fatty tissue from the under side. Before first contact with European trade, the workers scraped hides with large clam shells, but once iron tools were introduced, shell scrapers were quickly replaced with iron or steal versions.

The scraper shown in the picture has a traditional handle, but the bit is metal. Many forms of scrapers have been found at historic sites. Some are pieces of musket barrels that were flattened on one end to form a scraping blade, but the most common scraper was probably similar to the one shown.