Brittany J. L. May

Stitch by stitch, bead by bead, teaching by teaching, I’m learning.

This was the project I was most scared to start. I’ve had these materials and the design drawn for months. Sitting, waiting. With the exception of the beads (obviously) I’ve worked with none of these materials before. I was scared, working with hide felt so permanent.

From buying the materials with A LOT of help, to figuring out the pattern, to making my first hide thimble, to stitching my first beads and thinking “what have I done?!” it was all so incredibly worth it. I wanted to do it right because I want to have these forever. I want to be able to pass them down, I want this skill to stay alive in my family tree. I felt a lot of responsibility starting this project and now I can wear these with pride.

I look forward to the day where I can connect with my Métis relatives in person and try my hand at another pair in a workshop. For now I have to thank @denisedarling, Catherine from @cvltvrebead, @bronwynbutterfield, and @lorbrand for their amazing knowledge and guidance, @tripcharbsfor the very helpful moccasin creation videos, @billworbfurs for the help with materials, and all of you in this incredible online community for cheering me on. I made some traditional footwear… WHAT?!

ABOUT THE MOCCASIN
The word moccasin loosely translates to “footwear” in various Algonquian languages, such as Plains Ojibwe (makisin or makizinan), Siksika (niitsitsikin) and Plains Cree (maskisin).

“First, constructions of the shoe varied by geography, reflecting the individual characteristics of each region’s tribes. Some subarctic tribes used a single piece of soft hide to cover it, for instance, while Great Plains tribes treated the moccasin as a modern-day outdoor shoe, even using a separate leather sole on the bottom.” – Christian Allaire, Vogue article ‘Why My Traditional Indigenous Moccasins Are The Ultimate House Slipper’