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Moccasins
The popularity of moccasins, one of the oldest, most revered and most practical form of First Nations crafts, has not wavered since the Europeans first stepped foot on North America and discovered their beauty and their strength.Although for many members of the tribes of the First Nations moccasins have been replaced with the sneakers and dress shoes that are favored by so many of their European counterparts for day to day wear, the modern moccasin still serves as a testimony to the skill and creativity of the people of the First Nations.
Traditional moccasins were made using moose, elk or deer hide, as it was the most durable and most easily stretched. Many tribes continue to tan their own hide from which to make moccasins, although a pre-stretched leather is commercially available for those who want an authentic product but do not have the time or skill to make the leather themselves.
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To protect fragile skin from the often brutal winters that are so well known across Canada the tribes would line their moccasins with fur, taking advantage of the animals’ own natural resistance to the frigid winds and snow.
Mink is the most durable (but far and away the most expensive). Rabbit is the cheapest, although like many cheap materials it tends to wear out quickly. Fox, beaver, coyote and muskrat fall somewhere in the middle, giving the wearer a reasonably long lifespan a respectable price.
Rather than using thread to attempt to hold the leather together some moccasins are made using sinew (most often artificial), which is much stronger with a longer lifespan. There are numerous resources available for assembling a moccasin if you are interested in making your own at home, as you are going to need a pattern to work from.
Once the moccasin has been sewn together it’s time for the fun part...decoration! The ornateness of a moccasin served as a testament both to the position of the wearer within a tribe and the skill of the hand wielding the needle. Many tribes had their own unique method of decorating a moccasin, so that a scout could tell by a glance at an individual’s feet which tribe he or she came from. (In some cases this would be evident simply by the shape of the track the moccasin left behind.)
The decorations on moccasins, as for most of the culture of the people of the First Nations, came from the environment around them. Beads, porcupine quills, feathers and other resources would be used to recreate flowers, sunsets, rainbows, fish, birds and rivers on the moccasin in stunning color and detail.
The creation of moccasins fell to the women of the tribe who would then pass the skill on to their daughters and granddaughters, sharing their ideas, their talents and their creativity to keep the culture hidden in their footwear alive.
Moccasins were among the first part of the native culture to be adopted by the Europeans and it remains among the last to be discarded as the tribes of the First Nations adapt to an increasingly modernized world.
To taste the history and heritage of this incredible people one only has to walk a mile in their moccasins.
