Moccasin (kélchí)

DESCRIPTORS

Curriculum Areas: Moccasin Making

Recommended Levels: 7^th –12^th graders

Time Frame: 55 minutes 2 times a week

Tribal Affiliation: Navajo (Diné)

Geographic Location: Rock Point Arizona

Developed by: Bennie Begay

Email addresses of developers: Bennie_Begay@teachnet.edb.utexas.edu

Date lesson was developed: July 26,2001

American Indian Standards:

American Indian Art (1.1,1.2,1.3,2.1,2.2,3.1)

INSTRUCTION

Goal: Students will demonstrate how to make Moccasin (kélchí)

Behavioral Objectives: Students will:

· Make a pair of Moccasins in the Diné traditional way.

· Learn the story that goes along with making a Moccasin in both English and their Navajo language.

Prior Knowledge Needed:

• Names of all the materials in Navajo
• Know how to interview the elders for information
• How to use Digital camera

Materials and Resources Needed:

• White leather soles
• Rust leather suede
• Wax
• Awl
• Waxed thread
• Conchos
• Drawing paper
• Pencil and pen
• Tape recorder
• Utility knife

Culture Content and Strategies:

• Local elder from the community
• Navajo language
• Navajo traditional songs
• Navajo traditional story related to every part of a moccasin

Lesson Summary and Performance Tasks:

Students will do research on how Moccasins are made. Students will interview four people who know how to make Moccasins utilizing the digital camera to record people who are being interviewed. Students will do a group project on how to cut out the leather soles and the suede leather for the top portion. The students will make a pair of Moccasins for a group project using leather scraps. Individually students will make a pair of small baby Moccasins. Students will make their own pair of Moccasin for their final project.

Steps:

1. Trace the left foot on a paper using a pencil.

2. Round out the edges and corners of the foot as shown in pattern #2 for the sole of the moccasin.

3. Now you retrace the new sole pattern and go out about 1-2 inches depending on the size of the foot, #3 sole pattern is going to be 1-2 inches bigger than the sole pattern #2.

4. Using the new sole pattern #3 retrace it to make your top leather suede pattern.

5. To cut out your right pattern just reverse the left pattern.

Template ->

Assessment:

Have students do oral presentation to other students on how to make Moccasins.

Make a book on how to make Moccasins.

Retell the history of moccasin-making using Power point.

EXTENSION

Technology Integration:

• Digital camera
• Tape recorder
• Computer

Enrichment/Remediation:

Students will know the traditional story about the Moccasin. Knowing how to make a pair of Moccasins is going to benefit our students in the future. Students will then be able to continue to make Moccasins through their lives.