Moccasin Leggings

Pair of moccasin trousers or leggings collected among the Tlingit but likely of Athapaskan make. Made from large sections of animal hide sewn together along the inside of the leg with soles and a back panel attached. A beaded strip runs from the top of the thigh to the ankle, then around the ankle. Beads are arranged in an repeating sequence of yellow, black, blue, and black squares. The design forms an open triangle where the beaded ornamentation on the leg meets the beaded ornamentation on the ankle. Each knee is wrapped with a beaded band in red, blue, and yellow beads sewn on a backing. The designs on the knee bands are of an interlocking meander pattern. Hide fringe at the ends of the bands are positioned at the front of the knee. Hide strips are attached at the top of the beaded design on the thigh.