At Moccasin Identifier, our mission is to cover Canada in moccasins. We aim to restore history by creating visible, land-based markers that remind all Canadians of the traditional territories they live, learn, work, and gather on.

With support from the Government of Canada, Moccasin Identifier has expanded our Ontario-born project into a national educational toolkit. This work includes new moccasin stencils, expanded educational content, and resources that support learning about Treaty relationships, Indigenous presence, and place-based history across Canada. To support this work, MI engaged Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation artist Cathie Jamieson to lead cross-Canada research and curation. This process included fieldwork, relationship-building, and conversations with local Elders, Knowledge Keepers, artists, and cultural experts from coast to coast to coast.

Through this collaborative research process, Moccasin Identifier worked to represent regional landscapes, footwear knowledge, Treaty relationships, and Indigenous presence as respectfully and accurately as possible.

At the same time, we recognize that 14 moccasins cannot possibly represent the immense diversity of hundreds of distinct First Nations across this land. To make the first phase of this national project practical for classrooms and public education, our initial scope focused on Canada’s capital city regions.

For the Atlantic region, this work led us to Millbrook First Nation Elder, storyteller, and artist Gerald Gloade, who designed the regional Mi’kmaw pucker-toe moccasin stencil. Internal MI materials confirm that Gerald Gloade was engaged in the National Stencil Kit process and gave permission for his drawings to be included.