Parfleche

Boo's been studying Native Americans for the past couple months, and they did a fun project in class making a Parfleche.  A Parfleche is a type of rawhide bag or carrying case that Native Americans used to carry dried meat.  It was often decorated with geometric patterns and symbols.  Its name comes from the french "parer", meaning 'to defend', and "fleche", meaning "arrow", named because the hide was tough enough to use as a shield!

The kids used two paper grocery bags and worked hard to "tan" their hides by crunching them up enough to make them soft.  They the two bags are cut and glued together, hold-punched and tied together with twine!  They used crayon and markers to decorate their Parfleche.

I got to go in and volunteer for a day in the art room, helping kids get their envelopes glued together.  The did a great job, and I loved seeing their finished products displayed at our school Art Fair last week!

 Here's Boo's front and back Parfleche -