Skjefte Helps Redesign Minnetonka Moccasins For A New Age

Lucie Skjefte ’16 has helped redesign the Thunderbird moccasin for the local shoe company Minnetonka.

The artist, a citizen of the Red Lake Nation Anishinaabeg, is the first Native designer to redesign one of Minnetonka's 'signature' shoes as part of the company's efforts to cut down insensitive usage of Native American iconography.

The re-introduced moccasin is now named Animikii (meaning 'thunderbird' in Ojibwemowin) and Minnetonka has made Skjefte the sole copyright owner of the shoe's design. In addition to letting her re-use the design, she also get paid royalties for each shoe sold.

Learn more

• How Family-Owned Minnetonka Addressed Its History of Cultural Appropriation
  (inc.com–February 20, 2024)