It's
#RockYourMocs week and thousands across the nation are expressing Native pride by wearing moccasins to work, to school and just about anywhere.
Jessica “Jaylyn” Atsye, who hails from the
Pueblo of Laguna in New Mexico, started
Rock Your Mocs seven years ago. It originally was a single-day observance, on November 15, but has since grown into a much larger phenomenon.
“I am thrilled to see how the event has quickly grown into a worldwide initiative to celebrate native and indigenous cultures, and more importantly, how it has helped to unify Native cultures and create pride in their ancestry,” Atsye told
Indian Country Media Network back in 2015.
Rock Your Mocs, November 12-18, 2017. Photo: Rock Your Mocs
Among those who are excited to take part this year is
Secretary Ryan Zinke. He plans to sport a pair of Crow moccasins as he works at the
Department of the Interior, the parent agency of the
Bureau of Indian Affairs, on Wednesday.
"Thanks to the Crow for the mocs!" Zinke wrote in a
post on Twitter. The
Crow Tribe is based in Montana, Zinke's home state.
The BIA also has been getting into the Rock Your Mocs, which runs November 12-18 this year. Since the start of
National Native American Heritage Month, the agency has been sharing a photos of
Native footwear every day on
social media. The
selections are drawn from the
BIA's museum collection.
Join the Conversation
