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On Sept. 24, Jessica Anderson Ojala, the Language and Culture Coordinator at the Bois Forte Heritage Center and Cultural Museum, hosted a Baby Moccasins class where attendees were instructed step-by-step how to make their own baby sized puckered moccasins.
Ojibwe people are known for the puckered style where at the toe of the moccasin, the leather is held together tightly at the toe to create ruffled look at the seam.
Workshop participants included grandparents to new moms and dads who were really excited about the new babies coming into their lives.
Ojala used a moccasin making design book that she displayed to the class which had moccasin patterns for all sizes.
The first part of the process after cutting out patterns is called basting, where you connect a piece of leather to the “tongue” or “vamp” (top) part of the moccasin. The next was to use the lock-stitch sewing technique to connect the vamp to the bottom part.
This is where Ojala assisted the class individually to create what she called “hills and valleys” while doing a lock-stitch to create the puckered style at the toe. The time to create one moccasin while taking breaks for instruction was about 3 hours. Participants were sent home with extra supplies to finish the second moccasin, and additional materials as some wanted to make more.
For more information on Ojibwe lifeways, please visit the Bois Forte Heritage Center & Cultural Museum down the road from Fortune Bay.
The museum and gift shop are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday at 1500 Bois Forte Road, Tower. They can be reached at 218-753-6017.
