Kamik (boot/shoe)
Warm, dry footwear is essential for survival in the Arctic. The MacFarlane Collection includes examples of knee-length boots known as kamaks, and ankle high moccasin-type footwear. These garments have been skillfully made, and often were decorated by piecing together contrasting pieces of skin. The soles are crimped along the front edges to make the shape conform to the foot.
William Nasogaluak: [In our language], you would call shoes “ahta kuk”...Some people call it kamak and “muks “.
"(…) above the knee, the trousers connect with a pair of boots whose uppers are a pair of hide boots made of hide from caribou legs while the sole is of pleated seal hide, painstakingly ornamented." (Émile Petitot, quoted in Savoie, 1971: 172)
