In partnership with the Bata Shoe Museum, Carolyn and her team were given special access to the late Sonja Bata’s private collection of moccasin footwear, which happens to be the world’s largest circumpolar collection and the largest collection of moccasins from Turtle Island.
Through the support of renown artist Phil Cote, four moccasins were selected that linguistically represent First Nations in Ontario historically, as reflected in Treaty relationships: the Anishinaabe, the Huron Wendat, the Seneca and the Cree.
From there, the moccasins were hand drawn by Phil Cote and then transferred into stencils that could be used by people of all ages, as a fun, interactive and educational experience through which to ground their learnings and to reflect on their treaty relationship and responsibilities.
Seneca Mocassin
Date: 1850-1900
Culture: Amerind, Woodland
Tribe: Haudenosaunee
Research, Artist and Design by Philip Cote
Seneca live throughout the United States and Ontario today.
Description: Native tanned deer skin and silk thread with applied beading decoration on black velvet. Two pieces constructed with textile apron inserted between forepart sides of bottom unit. Back-T-seam. Lined with white and pink textiles. Added black velvet collar.
Anishnaabe Mocassin
Date: 1700-1799
Culture: Amerind, Woodland
Tribe: Anishnaabe
Research, Artist and Design by Philip Cote
Anishnaabe live throughout Ontario today.
Description: Pair of eastern woodland moccasins with gathered center front seam, decorated with red and white quills and tin cones on each moccasin. Decorated cuffs are separate pieces, and have been attached with sinew thread. Quill decorations are also on center back seam. White quill lines along the front and back edge of the collars have red pigment, note the mishupishu design along the collars having stylized reference of a symbolic cross-hatching and double peek referring to the ears of the underwater panther.
Wendat Mocassin
Date: 1830
Culture: Amerind, Woodland
Tribe: Huron
Research, Artist and Design by Philip Cote
Huron-Wendat live in Eastern Ontario and Quebec today.
Description: Black smoked native tanned deer skin embroidered moccasins. Two piece construction with deer skin apron inserted into up turned crimpled fore part of the bottom piece. Back seam. Straights. Thread sewn. Attached deer skin collar with red silk binding and ties. Apron and collar embroidered in moose hair and quill dyed red, blue, green, yellow, pink, and orange with floral designs within a blue and white geometric and curvilinear border.
Cree Mocassin
Date: 1830
Culture: Anishinaabe
Tribe: Cree
Research, Artist and Design by Philip Cote
Cree live in Northern Ontario today.
Description: Cree moccasins come from the Red River area from about 1820. Two piece moccasins made from smoked moose hide, have an apron inserted at the top of the moccasin. Quill work was woven separately on a loom and then applied to each apron and suspended from the collars. Geometric patterns form triangles, stars, chevrons, and thunderbirds. Three bands of bird quill piping decorate the joint between the apron and bottom pieces.
The Bata Shoe Museum remains an ongoing and supportive partner to the Moccasin Identifier to this day.
