Kélchí: Thomas Edison Yazzie: moccasins protector of the feet, choices

By Kianna Joe
Office of the President and Vice President

WINDOW ROCK – “‘Ałki’dą́ą́ from our elders, these stories are passed down and vary among families. There’s no story that’s wrong,” said Thomas Edison Yazzie, a traditional practitioner at Dilkon Medical Center, who attended the Dilkon Wellness Center’s event on storytelling about moccasins.
Yazzie, from Jeddito, Arizona, recalled his grandfather taking cowhide and skinning the hair off the hide, soaking it in water, and then putting the hide in moist sand to soften it up.

After several days, his grandfather took it out and rubbed the hide with a coarse rough rock until dried and then cut the pieces for the moccasin. For the red color of the moccasin, Yazzie remembered his grandfather using chííh where he said later people started using plants to dye the hide. “There are many other ways it was and is made,” Yazzie said.

Like the variations of moccasin making, Yazzie explained the story he knows about moccasins is his interpretation that many might not know of or have their interpretation.

Place of emergence

Yazzie said in Diné Bizaad, during the time of emergence, known as Hajíínáí there came a period of drought. The land was drying up, and life was beginning to wither away. In response, various plant beings, such as greasewood, sage, and other wild plants—many of which thrive in places with little water—came together. Among them was tsé’ésdaazii, a plant with a hard red stem, later used to dye moccasins red.

The plant beings decided to seek help from the water beings, so they sent word to those whose names include references to water—such as the Tótsohnii, Tó’áhání, and Tábąąhá. A female water being arrived in response to their call. The plant beings requested that she bring an adolescent female water being who had not yet had a relationship with a male. This young water being would carry with her an offering of ntł’iz for the water beings.

The young water being was brought to the plant beings, who quickly wove her a biil—how they managed to weave it so swiftly, no one knows. They gave her corn pollen, greasewood stirring sticks, and a grass brush, and instructed her to travel through the places where rain dwells—through the lands of the female rain, the male rain, and the dark fog. Her destination was the mountaintop, where she was to make an offering in prayer for the plant beings.

Holiness and reverence

She carried out the task as instructed, praying earnestly for the plants. Upon her return, as she approached the entrance, her biil was lifted from her shoulders, and it remained hanging at the doorway. Now, when a blanket is used to cover a doorway, it is seen as a sacred act, a sign of holiness and reverence. This is why, to this day, a blanket is hung at the entrance during ceremonies.

The buckskin was used to make the young female’s moccasins. Leftover pieces from the biil were then used to tie and secure the kénitsaa—the moccasins with wraps. Women were highly respected for their extraordinary skills and abilities. They were the decision-makers. Men often turned to the women for guidance, as leadership was traditionally held by the women. This respect for women as leaders continues today. Medicine men always look to women—whether it’s their mother or grandmother—for input when critical decisions need to be made.

In ancient times, Diné were a nomadic people. Yazzie said while he is not sure if there was a faster mode of travel, the moccasin was vital to mobility. Homes were few and far between, so the moccasins served not just as footwear, but as a practical means of carrying essential items.

Tools for survival

The wraps around the moccasins weren’t for decoration—they were a necessity. On the left side of the moccasin, the wraps held tools for survival, like butchering utensils and coverings or blankets. On the right, they carried things like corn pollen, arrowheads, and tobacco. Yazzie said women were truly remarkable, traveling from place to place with everything they needed for survival always at hand and men didn’t have anything like this; they only had the loincloth.

In the early days, the sole of the moccasin was made from bobcat hide, tanned in a way that made it waterproof. They would braid roots or twine (tsá’ásdzi’) and attach it under the sole for added traction, useful when traveling through snow, ice, or slippery conditions. This is the kénitsaa—the “big moccasin.” It carried tools, utensils, and essential items for survival. The wraps were tied clockwise.

Unlike the moccasins of today, they were once simple and functional, made with whatever materials were available. In times of hardship, there were no ready-made clothes, and fire pits were placed directly on the earth floor. Moccasins were crafted with whatever could be found.

During the Long Walk, moccasins were used in a similar way, offering protection from cacti and greasewood. If one looks at moccasins from other tribes, one will see similarities, likely born from the same need for survival.

In conclusion, Yazzie said, people deeply cherish and respect Diné moccasins. There are songs and prayers for them, especially during the Kinaaldá. These prayers and songs honor the young woman, covering everything from her feet to her clothing. The moccasin, as part of her sacred dress, symbolizes the love and reverence for women. Women are not to be abused—physically, verbally, or otherwise. They are the leaders, and there are women leaders today. When we pray, we say, “Yoołgaii asdzáá, asdzáá nádleehé”—a prayer of respect and reverence for the women who guide and protect.

Peter Thomas, a Diné cultural studies teacher at Dine College, pointed to his current combat-like boots and said he was wearing his moccasins. Often asked why he doesn’t wear moccasins, Thomas said any shoe can be seen as moccasins.

For Native American Heritage Month, Nov. 10-15 is often celebrated as, “Roc your Mocs,” week, where different tribal communities across the United States wear their traditional moccasin in their daily life. Thomas said moccasins evolved and came to be out of necessity and modernization. Like Yazzie, Thomas said there are many variations of how the moccasins, or, kélchí, came to be.

According to Thomas, the first shoe for Diné was yucca leaves strung together to protect the feet and after trading with neighboring communities like the Apache, Pueblos, and Hopi, the current moccasin came about.

However, the moccasins were more than a shoe. Thomas described the shoe as not only a protector of one’s feet but as a protector of choices each person who wears them will inevitably have to make. If someone wearing moccasins were to step on a snake, they could feel the snake move under their moccasin, if someone were to step on a snake in a regular modern shoe, they wouldn’t know they just stepped on a snake that could potentially harm them.

The person wearing the moccasin knows their next step is important in staying safe. Much like in life, people often face challenges they are unsure to decide on but having worn moccasins and having lived a life grounded to Nihimá Nahasdzáán, one’s choice will be protected because you can feel what is right for you.

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