L32 



THK NAVAJO SHOEMAKER. 



Close to the solo, where the front and back uppers meet, they are 

 fastened together at each side with a short thong of buckskin. 



;: 



... w^*m 



Fie 1. Navajo shoe, finished. 



The specimen* marked C (fig. 1) shows the finished shoe in the style 

 most commonly used, because the method of sewing it is the easiest, being 



merely successive simple stitches. 

 No significance attaches to the two 

 parts of the uppers being of differ- 

 ent colors. Some make them of 

 buckskin all of one color. This 

 style of shoe is called Ke-bi kit-is- 

 tiz. The stitch with which it is 

 sewed is in process the same as 

 wrapping a thread around a stick, 

 hence the term for wrapping "Kit- 

 Is-tiz" is applied to it. 



The specimen marked D (fig. 2) 

 is called Ke-bi tuta it-si, a term 

 implying that the sole incloses the 

 upper portion. This, as the fore- 

 going legend indicates, is the ear- 

 liest form of skin shoe; this and 

 the former style are the two most 

 commonly used. The small speci- 

 men marked E shows another kind 

 of stitch, and shoes sewed in this 

 manner are called Ke bi-kagi it-si, 

 denoting that the upper barely 

 covers the edge of the sole. This 

 stitch is entirely longitudinal, and is taken in the sole midway along 



FlG. 2. Navajo shoe, unfinished. 



Refers to collection presented to the .National Museum by Mr. Stephen.— Ed. 



