05/18/2026
Osanna Urbay, Chief Registrar & Exhibition Designer at the Montclair Art Museum, and Laura J. Allen, Curator of Native American Art & Repatriation Coordinator, take viewers behind the scenes during the installation of “Shifting Terrain: Perspectives on Land in North America” as they prepare a pair of Wendat moccasins for display.
Created around 1900 by an Artist Once Known, these well-worn moccasins are made of Native-tanned deer hide and embroidered with delicate floral designs in silk embroidery floss. While floral motifs became increasingly common in Native beadwork and embroidery during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, these designs also reflect enduring Indigenous relationships to the natural world and the spiritual significance of plants within Native communities.
Research conducted as part of the exhibition helped further identify the moccasins as likely Wendat, an Indigenous nation historically referred to as Huron. Scholars connected the work to the Wendat community of Wendake, near Quebec City, where Native artists maintained a thriving production of moccasins for sale during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This ongoing research reflects MAM’s commitment to deepening the understanding and attribution of works within its Native American art collection.
This video is part of MAM’s “Behind the Exhibition” series, which offers an inside look at the planning, research, and installation processes behind exhibitions at the Museum.
“Shifting Terrain,” explores evolving perspectives on land and landscape across North America by presenting historical, modern, and contemporary artworks that depict diverse relationships to place.
This exhibition was curated by Gail Stavitsky, Chief Curator, with the assistance of Laura J. Allen.
Learn more by visiting our website (link in bio)
Artwork Credit
Artist once known (Probably Wendat [Wendake]). Moccasins, ca. 1900. Native-tanned deerskin, embroidery thread, silk, metal. A: 4 (h) x 3 3/2 (w) x 8 7/8 (l). B: 4 1/4 x 3 7/8 x 8 ¾. Gift of S. Herman Klarsfeld, 1981.81A-B.
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