Peggy Andersen fears the sealskin boots are a dying tradition. (Photo: Jacob Barker/CBC)

Peggy Andersen fears the sealskin boots are a dying tradition. (Photo: Jacob Barker/CBC)

Peggy Andersen, from Nain  wants to teach the traditional skills required to make black sealskin bottom boots, a dying skill in Labrador’s Inuit communities.

Peggy Andersen questions how the older generation made the traditional black sealskin boots which are more waterproof and do not have any fur like the more common style of sealskin boot.  There are only a few people left who can do the stitch used to make the boots. She says certain types of “stitches” were lost and should be brought back by training people to learn the craft of stitching the boot so the tradition can live on.

Ms Andersen has secured funding through the Tasiujatsoak Trust  to hold workshops to teach the traditional skills. Instructors will come from parts of the province or elsewhere. Professional seal skin cleaning will also be taught, a learning process that can take days.

Thanks to Jacob Barker – CBC.ca
Full CBC.ca story is here