The soft elk skin, deerskin or buffalo skin slippers worn by Native Americans and known widely as moccasins were a fashion of shoe shared by many different tribes over time.  The seemingly simple design of moccasins, however, was actually so nuanced that Native Americans could attribute moccasin footprints to different tribes and identify one another accordingly.  Subtle variations in stitching or fringe detailing or the finishing of the heel could distinguish one pair of footprints from another.  Beyond this, the decorative detailing in beadwork or quill design on the front tab, or vamp, of the moccasin would also signal origins or affiliation.

The shoes are remarkably efficient in design and would have been well-suited to different geographical and climate conditions.  They were also extremely well crafted in supple leather with careful stitching to allow for ease of wear as much as for sensitivity to the landscape, something that would have been essential to Native Americans so skilled at traversing the land and tracking things on foot.  Those tribes to the west that lived in drier, more rugged terrain would have had shoes made of tougher leather with soles to match and would be constructed of two or more pieces of leather for sole and upper.  Tribes further east would have relied on soft-soled moccasins, typically constructed of one piece of hide and sewn with seams at the sides or at the top.

The word moccasin in association with Native American footwear has been adopted by the greater American public but it was never a universally understood word within the different Native American tribes.  Moccasin was the word for shoe in the Virginia Algonquian language and was passed into English as a generalization through the encounters early English settlers had with the native community.  Captain John Smith of the Jamestown settlement is attributed with noting the translation in his 1612 glossary, ‘mockasins: shoes.’  In actuality, each tribe used words in their own language or dialect to signify shoe/slipper and it is coincidence that has made ‘moccasin’ the lasting word in English.  It is more than coincidence and surely a tribute to the beauty of the design and image of the moccasin that it has been preserved as a style of shoe until today and continues to permeate the broader fashion market.

moccasin image from: Wisconsin Historical Society- and Morning Star Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Visit the History Store for a wide selection of historical gifts and reenactment gear. Our new product lines include: Pirate Clothing and Pirate Costumes: Relive the Pirate age with our new line of Pirate Clothes. Great for Reenactment, film, movies, stage or a costume party. We now also carry Historical Scale Model Kits: Recreate your own historical dioramas with our new scale model kits.

History CDs & History DVDs Atlas of Indian Land Cessions In the United States on CD Miracle on the Mesa on DVD The North American Indian by Edward S. Curtis on CD Pueblo Heritage on DVD

Tags: 19th century fashion, 20th century fashion, American History, Atlas of Indian Land Cessions In the United States on CD, beaded moccasins, captain John Smith, decorative moccasins, elk skin moccasins history, History CDs & History DVDs, history of footwear, history of moccasins, Jamestown settlement, Miracle on the Mesa on DVD, moccasins practical footwear, native american fashion, native american history, native american tribal history, nez perce warrior on horseback, Pueblo Heritage on DVD, The North American Indian by Edward S. Curtis on CD, word origin of moccasins