Plains Indian Moccasins

The Plains Indians clothes were made of soft deerskin. Everyone wears leggings and moccasins -- girls wore them with dresses, and boys wore them with shirts. They wore their best clothes only on special days.

Dresses and moccasins

My mother made a dress from two deerskins. She made my moccasins, too. The tops are deerskin and the soles are buffalo hide, which is much tougher. For decoration, mother sewed on lots of tiny, bright beads, quills, and feathers.


		Girls often wear an eagle feather in their hair.

	My best dress has fringes all around the edges.


	Find 0.5 meters of calico, felt pen, pins, scissors, needle, thread, acrylic, paints, paintbrush.

1. Stand on the fabric and draw around your feet. Draw the heel and toe shapes on to the fabric (make the toe 2cm wider than the sole). Cut out 2 of each of the shapes.

2. Pin the heel around the edge of the sole. Then pin the toe piece on as shown. Pin the edges where the heel and toe meet

3. Sew the moccasins and take out the pins. Hem any frayed edges. Turn the moccasins inside-out. Make slits in the heels for the laces.

4. Paint a bright pattern on your moccasins. When the paint is dry, thread strips of fabric through the slits to make laces.

A warrior's robes

Chased-by-Bears wants to be a great hunter and fearless warrior when he grows up, so that he can wear buffalo robes and an eagle feather headdress, just like our father. He'll carry a long spear for hunting, and a tomahawk for fighting. If he's very wise, he may even be chief one day.