Miniature Moccasins

In contrast to the stiff, rawhide sole of the Plains moccasin, the sole of the Woodland moccasin was soft, both sole and sides consisting of a single piece of deerskin with a seam up the back. Among all Woodland Indians, both sexes wore the same tribal style of moccasin, except for the Ho-chunk, who had one type with a square front which was worn only by women.

The oldest and most traditional style worn by Great Lakes tribes was made with a central puckered seam running down the upper front and over the top of the foot. Although other styles were also made, this style was worn into historic times to create the undecorated "ricing moccasins" worn by men to "dance the rice".

For other styles, an elliptical piece serving as a vamp was added instead of the central seam and another piece was sewn to the back half and around the ankle edge to serve as a cuff. The shape and size of the vamp could vary: in one variation, a long, wide vamp was sewn on, in puckered fashion, to cover most of the upper front of the moccasin. This style was preferred by the Menominee. The second variation had a much smaller vamp, also puckered, but with a central seam running below the vamp and to the toe. Because of its popularity with the Ojibwa, this type is often referred to as the Ojibwa style, but it is also called the "deer-nose" style because the vamp and the short front seam resemble the dark part of a deer’s nose and its split upper lip. Only the vamps and cuffs were decorated with quillwork or beadwork.

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