Native People |
IROQUOIS CLOTHINGIroquois people mainly wore shirts, pants, leggings, robes and capes. The men wore feathers in their hair and wore jewellery all over their body. Most of them wore a ring in their nostrils. The woman wore skirts, and robes mainly made out of deer skin. They wore moccasins as their footwear.The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) used European cloth and adapted it to their own style.
LATE 1600S AND EARLY 1700S This is one aspect of Iroquoian culture that underwent considerable change in the late 1600s and early 1700s, with the availability of beads, trade cloth etc. from European sources. Most information of the clothing styles come to us by early European (mainly French) visitors in the early 1600s. Older boys and men wore a loincloth. Since deer skin moccasin soles wear out through heavy use, they saved them by not wearing them when not needed. Away from the village, moccasins would be worn. Also, a man or a boy would sometimes wear leggings when away from the village. These were two tubes of deerskin that covered the legs from the ankle to the hip. Leggings were used as protection from thorns, poison ivy, etc. The leggings were tied by cords to the waistbelt. Women and girls also wore leggings, but since their skirts protected the upper legs, their leggings just extended to the knee and tied above the knee. Kilts, which look a lot like skirts, were occasionally worn by Iroquoian men on formal, dress-up occasions, but seem not to have been part of the day-to-day wear. In winter, both sexes wore fur-lined, full length robes, however, we know relatively little about their winter attire. The Jesuits mentioned mittens of fur, fur-lined moccasins insulated with dried grass and fur caps. They probably wore several layers of fur-lined clothing with a blanket or robe pulled over the shoulders, but that is partially conjecture based upon incomplete data and a few early sketches. |
IROQUOIS CLOTHING
by Gary Gangnier , Teacher, Saint Vincent's Elementary School
Central Quebec School Board
Sillery, Quebec