Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This video is about taking a handmade leather holster that worked just fine as it was and giving it a very different look with the help of my wife's traditional Indigenous beadwork.
I had originally made the holster myself from fairly heavy, stiff leather, which is what a holster needs in order to hold its shape and properly support a handgun. But that same stiff leather is not very well suited to beadwork, which is much easier to do on softer material that a needle can pass through easily.
So we came up with a different approach.
My wife made the beadwork separately on traditional brain-tanned moose hide, using hide that she had tanned herself. She shaped the beaded piece to fit the outside flap of the holster, and once she had finished the design, I stitched the completed overlay onto the holster.
Because the handgun I carry on our trapline is intended for protection against bears, she also worked bear claws into the design around the edge, which I thought was especially fitting.
In the video, I show some of the original construction of the plain holster, footage of me wearing it before the beadwork was added, examples of the kind of beadwork my wife does regularly, and then the finished holster after our two kinds of handwork were brought together.
I made the holster.
She tanned the moose hide and created the beadwork.
Then I stitched the two together.
If you enjoy videos like this about trapping, hunting, traditional skills, firearms, Indigenous culture and life in northern Canada, please consider subscribing to The Way To Native Chronicles.
You can also support the channel through Buy Me A Coffee:
Buy Me A Coffee:
buymeacoffee.com/thewaytonative
Visit the store:
buymeacoffee.com/thewaytonative/extras
And, of course, liking the video, leaving a comment, sharing it with others, or using YouTube's Super Thanks feature all help support the channel and are very much appreciated.
Thanks for watching, and God bless.
00:00 - Intro - making the basic holster
00:38 - Making it fancier
04:58 - Finished holster
This video is about taking a handmade leather holster that worked just fine as it was and giving it a very different look with the help of my wife's traditional Indigenous beadwork.
I had originally made the holster myself from fairly heavy, stiff leather, which is what a holster needs in order to hold its shape and properly support a handgun. But that same stiff leather is not very well suited to beadwork, which is much easier to do on softer material that a needle can pass through easily.
So we came up with a different approach.
My wife made the beadwork separately on traditional brain-tanned moose hide, using hide that she had tanned herself. She shaped the beaded piece to fit the outside flap of the holster, and once she had finished the design, I stitched the completed overlay onto the holster.
Because the handgun I carry on our trapline is intended for protection against bears, she also worked bear claws into the design around the edge, which I thought was especially fitting.
In the video, I show some of the original construction of the plain holster, footage of me wearing it before the beadwork was added, examples of the kind of beadwork my wife does regularly, and then the finished holster after our two kinds of handwork were brought together.
I made the holster.
She tanned the moose hide and created the beadwork.
Then I stitched the two together.
If you enjoy videos like this about trapping, hunting, traditional skills, firearms, Indigenous culture and life in northern Canada, please consider subscribing to The Way To Native Chronicles.
You can also support the channel through Buy Me A Coffee:
Buy Me A Coffee:
buymeacoffee.com/thewaytonative
Visit the store:
buymeacoffee.com/thewaytonative/extras
And, of course, liking the video, leaving a comment, sharing it with others, or using YouTube's Super Thanks feature all help support the channel and are very much appreciated.
Thanks for watching, and God bless.
00:00 - Intro - making the basic holster
00:38 - Making it fancier
04:58 - Finished holster
