Vintage Potawatomie Hand Beaded Moccasins

Martha Hopkins Struever, the late matron of Native American art, was best known for her work with Southwestern Native art like jewelry, pottery and katsinam. That said, she also admired and collected material from other Indigenous groups besides those in the American Southwest. 

These wonderful, vibrant Potawatomie moccasins are the only mocs that existed in her private collection. It makes sense because Marti was known for her great eye. She would've been attracted to the bold colors of the hand-stitched beads as well as the eye-catching designs. In addition, Marti would have loved the rarity of this pair as you really don't find Potawatomie beadwork moccasins often.

The slipper style moccasins have no laces. The footbed measures 10 3/4" x 3" across. The entire front portion is beaded with glass seed beads on hide. The vamps are also entirely beaded as well, from front to back.

They don't appear to have been worn much if at all. Therefore, they are likely later than those you see in the early period like the late 1800's when most Indigenous clothing items were created to be actually worn. These are probably circa 1940.

You could wear them - maybe for a one time special photo shoot, but why not just admire them in all their glory as the fantastic art piece that they are.

Check out this historic example at the National Museum of the American Indian.