Late 19th Century Kiowa Leggings (Moccasincorner‪)‬

I am pleased to offer Whispering Wind's readers some thoughts on a striking pair of circa 1890s Kiowa "boots". I have used quotes around the term "boots" here to reflect the fact that while some people might describe this style of footwear as being a "pair of boots", Vanessa Jennings, a highly respected Kiowa woman, uses the term "leggings" to properly describe this type of footwear. This beautiful pair of young girl-sized leggings was once in my personal collection, and today can be found in the collection of Doug and Karen Rahn. This month's article was made possible with their kind permission. The construction details of this pair reflect classic Kiowa preferences from the circa 1890s reservation period, and they would make a good role model if you wanted to reconstruct a pair from that timeframe today. Having said that, I think it's important to note that while the cut and style of these leggings are correct for the 1890s period, some moccasin characteristics continued to evolve over time, and Kiowa leggings of this type were not always made just precisely this way. There are some aspects of construction and decoration that have changed very little over time, but others have varied a great deal and are certainly worthy of note.