Mukluk

Soft-soled boots, of similar materials (mostly sealskin and caribou-skin) and designs, but with local variations, are traditionally worn in the Arctic and subarctic areas. These include the North American Arctic, including Greenland, the European Arctic, including Fennoscandia, and Siberia. Another type of boot, sometimes called an Inuit boot, originating in Greenland and the eastern part of Alaska, is made by binding it with animal sinew, and has a centre seam running down to the foot of the boot. Another type has a soft leather sole, but the upper is knitted out of wool or a wool-rayon blend. Often called "slipper socks", these are traditionally worn by the people of the Hindu Kush mountains. ==Use==

As mukluks are soft-soled, and flex with the feet, they allow hunters to move very quietly. A wearer can run, tip-toe, and even dance in mukluks. They are also designed for use in the tundra. Mukluks weigh little. While, for instance, the United States Marines extreme-cold-weather boots weigh , soft-soled boots made using modern materials weigh less than a tenth of that. Lighter shoes also allow for more efficient running. ==Care==

, Northwest Territories, 1951 Fur garments, including kamiks, are in the modern day stored in an unheated annexe. In a home with forced-air heating, the interior air is warm and very dry. The warmth and dryness would cause the furs to deteriorate quickly. On sunny days they are aired outside, especially in spring. After a season's storage, traditional skin kamiks tend to stiffen and need to be worked and stretched to make them pliable again. Allowing traditional boots to dry between uses hinders rot, letting the boots last longer. Multiple pairs can be worn in rotation to allow them more time to dry. ==Design==

Because mukluks weigh little, there is no need for heavy lacing; friction is enough to hold them on the foot. Some mukluks are very lightly laced (through external loops sewn into the seams, so as not to leak). They may be laced over the arch of the foot, or around the top of the boot to stiffen it. Many, however, are designed without lacing, to avoid constricting the circulation and making the foot cold. The top of the boot stands up somewhat stiffly, and may be open at the top, which allows moisture to escape. Mukluks are often made with a wrapped sole, so that the seam around the sole is on the top and sides of the boot, not on the bottom edge. This helps avoid leaks, and wear and tear on the seams. Kamiks made for cold, dry winter weather may have fur low down on the outside, and other features that would be a problem when not on dry, powdery snow. Kamiks for warm, slushy, muddy, or open-ocean conditions are finely stitched from waterproof sealskin (see illustration above). ==Manufacture==

File:Teriglu's three sealskins (37111).jpg|Drying sealskins, near Barter Island, Alaska, June 1914 File:Greenland 1999 (33).jpg|Greenland, 1999 File:Inuit woman “Josie” chewing sealskin to soften it for making kamiits (boots), Kinngait, Nunavut (31497043966).jpg|Chewing sealskin to soften it; Kinngait, Nunavut, July 1951 File:Inuit woman “Josie” scraping sealskin, Kinngait, Nunavut Josie, une femme inuite, gratte une peau de phoque à Kinngait, au Nunavut (30694460224).jpg|A scraper may also be used. File:Eskimos drilling ivory and making mukluks, Port Clarence, Alaska, ca 1900 (HEGG 337) (cropped to mukluk-making).jpeg|Making waterproof summer overshoes in a tent, , Port Clarence, Alaska File:Inuitkvinder skraber rensdyrskind - Inuit women scraping caribou skin (15143756777).jpg|Scraping caribou skin, Alaska, 1922 File:Inuit woman in an igloo making kamiit (sealskin boots), Inukjuak, Quebec Une femme inuite fabrique des kamiit (bottes en peau de phoque) dans un igloo à Inukjuak, au Québec (31163278870) (cropped).jpg|An Inuk making kamiit from sealskin, in an igloo (iglu) in Inukjuak, Quebec, Canada, January 1946 Usually, the uppers of summer kamik are made from ringed seal skin, while the soles are made of bearded seal skin, which is tougher. Winter kamik are often made of caribou leg fur; caribou, unlike seals, rely on fur rather than blubber for insulation, so their fur is warmer. The skin requires laborious preparation. Seals must be skinned, and the skins blubbered, washed in dish soap, scraped to clean them, hung to drain, and then stretched to dry outside. The skins may be bleached in the sun, and for summer kamik, they are generally scraped clean of fur to allow watertight stitching. Blind-stitching (not piercing the full depth of the skin) with sinew, which shrinks when wet, helps keep mukluks watertight. Commercial boots of modern materials will often require seam-sealing after purchase if they are to be fully waterproof. For insulation, mukluks may be lined with furs such as caribou, Arctic hare, Arctic fox and more modern imports such as raccoon or rabbit. Commercial sheepskin may be used to line and sole boots, as of the first decade of the 20th century. Down, polyester, and closed-celled EVA foam is also used in soft-soled boots. The inner boot may also be made of textile, or wool felt. ==Gallery==

File:Greenland-arnat-kamik.jpg|Ceremonial kamik boots worn by women in Greenland during special occasions. Shorter sealskin outer boots are worn over decorated textile thigh-high inners. Sisimiut, Greenland File:Greenland 1999 (14).jpg|Dancing in ceremonial kamiit in Ilulissat, Greenland in 1999. Note flexibility and lack of lacing. File:Inuit tools for making sealskin boots, Ungava Inuit, 1989 - Bata Shoe Museum - DSC00398.JPG|Top right, kamik for wet conditions, from Ungava, 1989. Note wrap-around sole, seam location, and lack of laces (close-up). Left, the tools for making them. Lower right, cut-out pieces for sole and vamp. File:Inuit or Eskimo shoes (UBC).jpg|Kamiit, winter and summer, with their inners removed and stood separately. The exposed parts of the (felt) winter liner are decorated. File:Alaskan boots, Inupiat, 1989, bearded seal, ringed seal, spotted seal, caribou, polar bear - Bata Shoe Museum - DSC00406 (crop).JPG|Alaskan boots, Inupiat, 1989, bearded seal, ringed seal, spotted seal, caribou, polar bear File:Cvsam2.jpg|Crow Village Sam wearing his favorite mukluks, Chuathbaluk, Alaskaca, 1970 == See also ==