Moccasins, (low-tailored shoes), are one type of traditional North American footwear. Woven sandals, boots, and leggings attached to shoes have also been produced by Native Americans. The origins of moccasins go back to the cold, harsh climates of man's past that made it necessary to make protective footwear. Wearing moccasins or boots would have been essential to keep feet from freezing. The word moccasin, which has language origins with Eastern North American tribes, traditionally referred to a shoe with a puckered u-shaped 'vamp' over the instep. The name of the Great Lakes Ojibway tribe means 'people of the puckered moccasin'. The southern New England Narragansett word for shoe is 'Mocussinass' or 'Mockussinchass'.

Source: Nativetech