The Living History of Moccasins

This blog excerpt was taken from our store: Leather-Moccasins. To read the entire article please click here.

The moccasin has an intricate history. It is a shoe influenced by varied cultures of Indigenous tribes, and complicated by European colonialism. Modern day penny loafers, boat shoes, mules, and slides all take inspiration from Aboriginal footwear. But what we recognize as a traditional moccasin today is many steps removed from its original predecessors.

Of all the designs and interpretations over the past couple of centuries, several distinct features of the moccasin have endured, along with their cultural significance.

Genuine, Natural Hides

Indigenous communities have always had a spiritual connection with animals in nature. It is believed that animal spirits present themselves to humans as an aid to their survival, providing meat for food, skins and furs for warmth, and bones and horns for tools. Gratitude was shown by not wasting any part of the beast. Original moccasins were made by sewing tanned leather skins to a tough rawhide bottom sole. Sometimes coloured with plant dyes, deer, elk, moose, and buffalo were among the most common hides used to make shoes and other items of clothing.

Each animal has a sacred symbolism, and rituals of respect and gratitude continue to be held in tribes today in honour of their gifts. indigenous peoples have always been careful not to over-hunt and deplete or interfere with the natural life cycles of the animal species.

Hand Craftsmanship

Traditionally, moccasins were made by hand, sewn with sinew, and decorated according to tribal customs and preferences. Continue reading...