Moccasins

ca. 1890; Eastern Sioux; Buckskin, rawhide, fabric, glass beads; length 25.4 cm (10 in.); Founders Society Purchase with funds from Flint Ink Corporation; 1988.31

Moccasins were created by women artists as part of their traditional role of preparing clothing for their families. The floral patterns stem from a number of sources: European decorative arts, printed cotton textiles, or as a result of the training American Indian women received at mission schools. Regardless of origin, floral patterns employed by artists on clothing and domestic objects were reconfigured and then incorporated as symbols of American Indian identity.