Toronto, ON, July 17, 2007 - The extraordinary beauty and fascinating diversity of the footwear of Indigenous peoples throughout North America are the focus of the Bata Shoe Museum's upcoming exhibition, Beauty, Identity, Pride: North American Footwear from the Bata Shoe Museum.

The exhibition will open on Thursday October 24, 2007.

More than ninety pairs of shoes, boots and moccasins will showcase the designs, meticulous methods of creation, and beautiful patterns of decoration of Aboriginal peoples of the Subarctic, Northeast, Southeast, the Plains, the Great Basin, and the Southwest regions of North America. The exhibition will feature a vast array of 19th-century moccasins, with several items from the 18th century as well as some 20th-century examples.

The exquisite craftsmanship and intricacy of these functional works of art are manifest in sophisticated beading and quillwork, the use of decorative metals, different hides, ribbons and other materials, and regional variations in structural design. Visitors will see up close the techniques and artistry which exemplify the outstanding quality and detail of Native footwear.

Beauty, Identity, Pride will feature many remarkable pieces, including the following highlights:

A pair of Arapaho women's knee-high boots with fine beadwork, pigmentation, German silver buttons and fringe.

(these are Sioux)

The Northern Cheyenne favoured hard-soled shoes with elaborately beaded uppers, and visitors will see Northern Cheyenne shoes with a background of white beads, an angled cut to the cuff, and decorative symbols of thunderbirds and horses.

Traditionally, a Zuni bridegroom was responsible for making the wedding boots to be worn by his bride, and the exhibition includes a pair of these boots created of white deerskin, with pre-formed soles that had to be sewn to the one-piece uppers using stitches not visible to the eye without turning the boots inside out: a true test of skill and devotion.

In addition to fine beadwork, 19th-century Sioux women created exceptional quillwork in strong geometric designs and vibrant colours, which will be seen on Sioux footwear in the exhibition.

Beauty, Identity, Pride: North American Footwear from the Bata Shoe Museum will also feature an innovative interactive component which will allow visitors to discover more about the culture, location, context, and methods of creation of each pair of footwear. It will also address the questions of what, where and who these pieces represent. The exhibition and accompanying interpretive material are designed to inform and educate visitors about the beauty and craftsmanship of native footwear, as a significant form of cultural expression.

A personal passion of Mrs. Sonja Bata, the Bata Shoe Museum's moccasin collection has been built up over thirty years and is now one of the largest in the world. Beauty, Identity, Pride will allow visitors to view these rarely seen treasures from the Museum's extensive collection.

Artifact: Northern Cheyenne, c.1885-95

Information: The Northern Cheyenne favoured hard-soled shoes with elaborately beaded uppers. A background of white beads is a predominant feature among Northern Cheyenne shoes, as is an angled cut to the cuff of the shoe. Thunderbirds and horses are popular symbols among the Cheyenne and are found on many of their shoes.

Credit: (c) Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto. Photo: Hal Roth

Artifact: Sioux, c.1880-90

Information: In addition to fine beadwork, nineteenth-century Sioux women also produced exceptional quillwork. Shoes and leggings decorated with elaborate quillwork in strong geometric designs were worn by both Sioux men and women. Quills could be dyed any number of vibrant colours, but the Sioux tended to favour bright red and yellow for their footwear.

Credit: (c) Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto. Photo: Hal Roth

Artifact: Zuni, c.1910

Information: Traditionally, a Zuni bridegroom was responsible for making the pair of wedding boots to be worn by his bride. Created out of white deerskin, the pre-formed soles of the boots had to be sewn to the one-piece uppers using stitches not visible to the eye and sewn without turning the boots inside out. This difficult requirement made the creation of these boots a true test of skill and devotion.

Credit: (c) Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto. Photo: Hal Roth

About the Bata Shoe Museum

The Bata Shoe Museum is a centre of knowledge about the role of footwear in the social and cultural life of humanity. The Museum's growing international collection of over 12,500 objects touches on 4,500 years of history. A varied program of events and exhibitions lets visitors discover the stories behind footwear from many lands and cultures. Current exhibitions include: The Charm of Rococo: Femininity and Footwear in the 18th Century; Watched by Heaven, Tied to Earth: Summoning Animal Protection for Chinese Children; and All About Shoes: Footwear Through the Ages. Online exhibitions include All About Shoes and On Canadian Ground: Stories of Footwear in Early Canada. The Bata Shoe Museum is located in downtown Toronto at the southwest corner of Bloor and St. George Streets.