Lethbridge College prepares for ‘Rock Your Mocs’ in November

By Ry Clarke - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on October 14, 2022.

Herald photo by Ry Clarke Lowell Yellowhorn sews a piece of leather while teaching a seminar on how to make moccasins for members of the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Innovation Thursday at Lethbridge College.

Lethbridge College’s Indigenous Services hosted educators and team members from the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Innovation (CTLI) in a moccasin-making session Thursday, working towards cross-cultural team building and promoting reconciliation. The event had community staff from the College work on making their own moccasins to wear around campus for its upcoming Rock Your Mocs event.

“The annual event is held in the middle of November, the 15 – 19. Today we are preparing our community here on campus, conducting moccasin making and workshops so that our staff and faculty can participate in the event,” said Lowell Yellowhorn, manager and curriculum advisor for Indigenous Services. “When we talk about the importance of moccasins and Indigenous culture, they are very important when it comes to identifying tribal traits. We can identify each other whereby our moccasins, they were our traditional footwear.”

Speaking to the history of moccasins, Yellowhorn says the Peigan Moccasin Factory was the proprietor to the commercial moccasin industry, shaping the style we see in many shoes today.

“The factory was located in Brockett, Alberta. They developed the original commercial vamp that was responsible for what we see in the commercial industry today,” said Lowell.

Working with the CTLI team, the event saw more than just shoe making, but also opportunities for expanding Indigenous learning across campus.

“When we look at the Indigenous services portfolio here at Lethbridge College, we are deeply embedded into all aspects of life here on campus,” said Lowell. “Working with the CTLI team right now, they are all critical components to the inner workings of the college, these are the people that design the curriculum for students to learn. This is important for them to get that experiential learning, which is an important part to Indigenous culture.”

Happy to attend the workshop, CTLI members found the event to be a great cultural experience.

“This is a great opportunity for us to learn more about Indigenous culture,” said Kelsey Janzen, studio coordinator for the CTLI. “Doing something tactile and getting us prepared for the Rock Your Mocs later. It has been fun and a little intimidating, because you are making your own pattern, you are sewing everything by hand. And if it sucks, it’s your fault. I’m excited to see how they turn out.”

Janzen also notes the best tip she learned from the event, was a helpful sewing aid.

“I have to say the leather thumb pad is a game changer. It seems like something tiny, but it took the sewing from a really difficult experience, trying to get the needle through the leather, and now I can actually do it easily,” said Janzen. “It’s funny how sometimes those tiny innovations like this make the process possible.”