Each shoe is custom fit to my foot.

The steps of my ancestors have tread a path to where and how I stand on Turtle Island today.

…

1. Find the land where my Settler ancestor first set foot.

2. Research the history of that land, applicable treaties and any present-day land claims.

3. Learn about the Indigenous Nations that call this territory home.

4. Walk the land where my ancestor first set foot.  Explore*, notice, scavenge, meet.

5. Scavenge shoe materials from this land.  Focus on discarded objects. Purchased items must be second hand or be bought in order to connect with a local person to learn a story.

6. Handle all materials with love and respect.  Materials are chosen for their inherent resource value, hidden stories, and for the ways they have introduced me to the land.

7. Choose a shoe design to reflect and embody my ancestor and their journey.

8. Infuse each material with a part of the story during the shoemaking process. Materials become surrogates for what I have learned and what I still wonder.

9. Be self-reflective and honest. Be hyper vigilant for Eurocentric views and assumptions. Do not hide or conceal these, but stitch them into the shoes.

10. Write a personal and specific Land Acknowledgement for the land.

11. Accept the shoes for what they are.  Understand that these shoes chronicle a journey, but cannot take you to a destination.   Empathize with the failures and mistakes you will find while using these shoes.

12.  Use these shoes to talk about living on Indigenous land with friends, family and other Settlers.