American Indian Moccasins

Traditional Native American clothing varied widely from tribe to tribe, but one nearly universal element was the moccasin, a sturdy slipper-shaped type of shoe sewn from tanned leather. The word "moccasin" comes from an Algonquian word (also spelled mocasin, mocassin, moccassin, or mocussin, depending on the language and transcriber), but that is only because Algonquians were the first Indians encountered by Europeans--they were used as footwear from Sonora to Saskatchewan, and though "moccasins" may be understood and accepted by all of them at this point, most Indian tribes have their own native word for them.

All American Indian moccasins were originally made of soft leather stitched together with sinew. Though the basic construction of Native American moccasins was similar throughout North America, moccasin patterns were subtly different in nearly every tribe, and Indian people could often tell each other's tribal affiliation simply from the design of their shoes. (In fact, the common names of some large nations like the Blackfoot and the Chippewas refer to their characteristic moccasin styles.) Tribal differences included not only the cut of the moccasins (here is an excellent map of North America showing moccasin designs among different tribes), but also the extensive beadwork, quillwork, and painted designs many Indian people lavished on their shoes. In some tribes hardened rawhide was used for the sole for added durability, and in others rabbit fur (or, later, sheepskin) was used to line the leather moccasins for added warmth. Plains Indian women also wore moccasin boots sometimes, which were basically just women's thigh-length leggings sewn to their moccasins for a one-piece look (very beautiful when fully quilled). Heavier-duty boots called mukluks were the invention of the Inuit (Eskimos), who made them of sealskin, fur, and reindeer hide; some subarctic Indian tribes adapted the mukluk style through trade or other contact with the Inuit, using caribou or buckskin instead.

Native American moccasin design has stood the test of time; not only are moccasins still being made and worn in many Indian tribes today, but they have also passed into the American mainstream, and both hard-soled moccasin shoes and soft-soled moccasin slippers are mass-produced by hundreds of non-native shoe stores now. Mukluks are also getting trendier recently (bizarrely enough, I saw a young woman wearing mukluks with a miniskirt recently. Do this at your own peril. It did not look as cute as she must have been anticipating.) In light of all this, if you are looking to buy moccassins or mukluks that were actually made by Native Americans--either because it's important to you to have the real thing or because you want to support native people with your purchase--then here is our list of American Indian craftsmen whose shoes are for sale online. If you have a website of Indian moccasins to add to this list, let us know. We gladly advertise any individual native artist or native-owned art store here free of charge, provided that all moccassins were made by tribally recognized American Indian, Inuit, or First Nations artists.

Thank you for your interest in Native American art!

˜ Native American Moccasin Shops

On our main site we do our best to avoid slowing down our page loading with graphics, but this page is about art, so we'd really be remiss in not showing a few representative Native American moccasin pictures. All photos are the property of their respective artists; please visit their sites to see their work in more depth.

– Moccasin Slippers

Usually these are sheepskin moccasins or leather ones lined with fur, worn indoors as slippers these days. You can find moccasin slippers made by machine in most major shoe stores, but Native American craftsmen are still making them too.

American Indian Moccasins
This Northwest Coast Indian crafts store carries a variety of sheepskin, elkskin, and rabbit-fur moccasins.

Algonquian Moccasins
Fur and leather moccasins from an Ojibway-owned crafts store.

– Beaded Leather Moccasins

Fancier and more expensive than moccasin slippers, beaded moccasins are usually used by contemporary Native Americans as regalia for ceremonies, powwows, and special occasions like weddings.

Ancient Ways Moccasins
Arapaho and Shoshone beaded buckskin moccasins, for adults and children. The beadwork on these is beautiful.

Neokistomi Indian Moccasins
Custom-beaded moccasins by two Blackfeet sisters, including adorable children's moccasins like this pair.

Zuni Coyote Moccasins
Custom-made beaded moccasins by a Zuni Indian artist. He does beaded hat bands, too.

Martha Berry Indian Moccasins
This Cherokee artist makes nice beaded moccasins, and also sells patterns for making your own.

– Mukluks

Sa-Cinn Muck Lucks
You have to scroll down past the mocasins, but this First Nations store also carries knee-high Athabaskan style mucklucks for sale, decorated with rabbit fur and beadwork designs. Very distinctive looking.

˜ Books About Native American Moccasins


Encyclopedia of American Indian Costume	How to Make Cherokee Clothing	Dress Clothing of the Plains Indians
Book on native clothing and moccasin styles in different Indian tribes, with moccasin patterns.	Descriptions, patterns and instructions for traditional Cherokee Indian moccasins and clothes.	Artistic book about Great Plains Native American clothing and mocassins.

˜ Moccasin Links

Here are some other good internet resources for learning about or purchasing Native American moccassins:

The Indian Arts and Crafts Act: US law against passing off fake American Indian crafts as genuine.

What constitutes Native American art fraud, and how to report it if you find it.

Native American Footwear: Articles, sketches, and photos of American Indian moccasin styles from NativeTech.

First Nations Clothing: Online photographic collection including traditional Canadian Indian moccasins, mukluks, and boots.

Native American Textiles and Clothing: Photographs, descriptions, and links about traditional Indian clothes and mocasins.

Native American Clothing: Orrin contributed to this larger directory of American Indian clothes and moccasins, many of which are authentic.

Native American Information: View our fact sheets for individual Indian tribes, with information about traditional clothing styles in each.

About us: This website belongs to Native Languages of the Americas, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting endangered Native American languages. We are not artists ourselves, so if you are interested in buying some of the moccasins featured on this page, please contact the artists directly. Though we have featured only Native American moccasins identified with the name and tribal affiliation of each artist, we haven't called the tribal offices to check up on any of them, and we only know a few of them personally. We also don't guarantee any of their products. This is not an exhaustive list of authentic moccasins--if you would like us to add your moccasin site to this page, please contact us with your URL and tribal affiliation. We advertise any individual native artist or native-owned art business here free of charge. We do not link to moccasins or mukluks which are not made by tribally recognized American Indian, Inuit, or First Nations artists, so please do not ask us to. And finally, websites do occasionally expire and change hands, so use your common sense and this general rule of thumb: if the creator of each individual artwork is not identified by name and specific tribe, you are probably not looking at genuine American Indian mocasins.

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