Jul 18, 2016 02:30 AM
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In 1980, Alika Webber, then curator of The Bata Shoe Museum, began working with a team of specialists on a typology of indigenous North American footwear. Basing her work on Hatt's early 20th century typology, she updated and expanded his findings, thereby contributing greatly to the understanding of North American indigenous footwear.
The Bata Shoe Museum typology(A. P. Webber, 1989, North American Indian and Eskimo Footwear: A Typology and Glossary) clearly defines the term moccasin. Although moccasin, an original Algonquian term for footwear, is commonly used when referring to all footwear made by the indigenous peoples of North America, the moccasin is only one type of footwear made by these diverse cultures. On the Great Plains, moccasins and separate soled shoes were the most prevalent forms of footwear.