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Moccasin


A moccasin is a shoe, made of deerskin or other soft leather, consisting of a sole (made with leather that has not been "worked") and sides made of one piece of leather, stitched together at the top, and sometimes with a vamp (additional panel of leather). The sole is soft and flexible and the upper part often is adorned with embroidery or beading. Though sometimes worn inside, it is chiefly intended for outdoor use, as in exploring wildernesses and running. Historically, it is the footwear of many indigenous people of North America; moreover, hunters, traders, and European settlers wore them. Etymologically, the moccasin derives from the Algonquian language Powhatan word makasin (cognate to Massachusett mohkisson / mokussin, Ojibwa makizin, Mi'kmaq mksɨn), and from the Proto-Algonquian word *maxkeseni (shoe).

Hopi Pueblo (Native American). Dancing Shoes, late 19th century. Brooklyn Museum

Beaded moccasins original to the estate of Chief Washakie, Wind River Reservation (Shoshone), Wyoming, c.1900

Crow moccasins, ca. 1940

Cheyenne moccasins

Kiowa moccasins

Shearers' moccasins on a wool rolling table.

In the 1800s, moccasins usually were part of a Canadian regalia, e.g. a powwow suit of clothes. The most common style is that of the Plains Indians moccasin.


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