​Q&A

An online questionnaire was filled out by several people and these are some responses to a couple of those questions.


What do your moccasins mean to you?


“The same things that my hair, my songs and my prayers mean...an outward expression of cultural identity.” -Karen Ann Hoffman


“Respect for life and also our ancestors by passing our ways on to the next generation for my children. So many teachings about the animal itself and how not to be wasteful and use every part of the deer. It connects my daughter to her grandmother by teaching her [my daughter] what she [my grandmother] had taught me.” -Ahshoni Daniels


“Pride. Persistence. Patience. Honor.” -Deanna Rivers


“I am working on a fully beaded pair, and all of these moccasins mean the world to me. The ones that my sister made were worn in the parade on the National Mall in Washington, DC for the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). I have fond memories of dancing in my plain Ojibwe pucker toe moccasins. And I have created a water design for the fully beaded pair, of which I have one top complete. I have also created pairs for my children, which make me feel empowered and connected to our traditions.” -Crystal Lepscier


“They are all special to me. They are a way of remembering and honoring my ancestors.” -Rachel Jeske



What do you want people to know about moccasins?


“That they were made from a deer that was hunted by a bow and processed by a woman tribal member that is implementing Potawatomi language along with the tanning process. I also made my daughter a pair of buckskin boots from the same design my grandmother taught me so our traditions stay alive in our family and communities” -Ahshoni Daniels


“I would want people to know that they have lives and memories in their soles. That the souls of the wearer are literally stitched into the designs. Moccasins have lives and they need to be worn, to touch the earth and to be passed on to be worn into the future. Moccasins are love, culture, tradition, and art all wrapped into wearable designs. From the start of tanning the hide, to measuring feet, tracing, designing, beading, stitching, construction, and wearing, they are acknowledgment of our continued connection to the earth.” -Crystal Lepscier


“My journey with moccasins is about learning how to make them then being able to pass that knowledge along. My goal is to learn as many styles as possible. There is still so much for me to learn. Some styles I have learned by figuring it out myself; sometimes I am able to learn from an elder; lately I have been checking out tutorials, but I want to learn more of the skill and I want the story behind the styles as well.” -Rachel Jeske


“The indelible relationship between environment, culture, and the unique ways material arts are tangible expressions of that link.” -Karen Ann Hoffman


“That babies who wear moccasins learn to walk with confidence. Their feet can still feel the ground they walk on but remain protected from elements.” -Deanna Rivers


“I learned how to do raised beading through the Oneida Nation Arts Program.” -Dawn Walschinski