Traditional Clothes

First Nations, Métis and Inuit have different styles of traditional clothing. Learn more about what they wore in the past and what they may still wear today, especially at celebrations and special events.

Amautik

This is an Inuit woman's outer parka with a large hood that can be used to carry a baby or a small child. Amautiks worn during the winter were lined with fur and the mother could feed her baby without removing it from the warmth of her hood.

The amautik's sturdy design protects both mother and child from the harsh Arctic climate.

Traditionally, Inuit wore layers of caribou or seal skin clothing. Seal skin is more waterproof than caribou skin, but caribou skin is warmer.

Beneath the outer parka, both men and women wore an inner parka that had fur on the inside.

Haudenosaunee Clothes

A gustoweh (also known as a kastoweh) is a hat made from strips of wood adorned with feathers and worn by men. The position of the feathers on the hat identifies which of the six Haudenosaunee Nations the man belongs to.

Haudenosaunee men also wore fringed shirts and leggings made from deerskin.

Haudenosaunee women traditionally wore dresses made from deerskin and decorated with porcupine quills. Skirts and leggings were worn underneath the dress.

Jingle Dress

This dance dress is traditionally decorated with cone-shaped jingles made from rolled-up lids of snuff cans.

The jingles are hung close together with fabric, which is then sewn onto a dress. As the jingle dress dancer moves, the jingles hit each other and create a tinkling sound.

Originally from the Great Lakes region, the jingle dress was believed to have been created after a medicine man caring for his sick daughter received a vision of a healing dress from the creator.

The jingle dress is sacred because of these origins and is to be treated with great respect.

Kamik

Traditionally, Inuit wore from two to five layers of caribou or seal skin footwear to keep warm. Seal skin is more waterproof than caribou skin, but caribou skin is warmer.

A kamik is a traditional Inuit boot. The foot of the boot is made of seal skin and the top is made of seal fur.

In the winter, kamiks protect feet from extreme Arctic cold. Because they are waterproof they are also good to wear in the spring as the snow melts.

Sometimes, kamiks have designs on them to show whether the person wearing them is a man or a woman. Men have a vertical pattern on their kamiks, while women have a horizontal pattern. Women's kamiks also often have beautiful beadwork on the top of the foot.

Métis Sash

The typical Métis sash is made of brightly coloured wool and is worn wrapped around the torso.

In the past, the sash had many uses. Most often, it was tied at the waist to keep a coat closed. It was also used as a:

scarf,
wash cloth,
towel,
saddle blanket,
tourniquet to wrap around a broken broke or
rope to tie onto a canoe.

A beaded pipe bag was often hung from the sash.

Moccasin

This slipper-like shoe is the traditional footwear of the First Nations. The upper part and the soles were made of tanned leather and sewn together with sinew.

Hard-soled moccasins were common among people living in the western plains and desert regions to protect their feet against rocks and cacti.

Soft-soled moccasins were common among people living in the eastern forests. These moccasins were more flexible than the hard-soled ones, allowing people to wear snowshoes and to step into birch bark canoes without damaging them.

Different decorations showed which community the person wearing them was from.