Made in The USA

I just finished reading my daughters blog.  In it she stated that she had purchased a pair Minnetonka Moccasins.  The shame of this was that they were made in China.  What in the world is wrong with this picture?  I can remember wearing these when I was a child and teenager and was so proud to wear them.  They made me feel so AMERICAN.  I felt like I was wearing something that had been made by the natives of this land.  Now this probably was not the case but I thought so as a child.  The first real moccasins that I had were made in the USA by my dad.  He used deer skins that were so soft, and made some for each of us children.   

At the time, my parents had a small hotel and some of the roomers were an Indian man, his wife and child.  I believe this man worked for the highway department or the contractor that was improving the roads in NW Oklahoma.  The wife, made many felt and bead accessories such as coin purses, key chains, hat bands, and so forth. I believe she showed my Mom how to decorate with the beads. When the moccasins were finished, my Mom put some bead design on them.  I thought they were beautiful.  I was so proud of them that I wore them to school.  They had a fringe on them that I could feel bouncing as I walked.  I felt compelled to sit at my desk and bounce them up and down to the rhythm I thought an Indian would dance.  Mrs. Enfield, didn't appreciate it and asked me not to wear them to school anymore.  I was so disappointed.  I did eventually wear them but I knew to hold my feet still when I had them on.  

Anyhow they were certainly a product of the USA and I loved them.  I always felt it was a shame to go into the Indian gift shops, or the stores in Oklahoma and see real genuine artifacts that were proudly made in Japan, now China.  Even as a child, I wondered why they weren't made at home to help benefit the Indians.  Maybe they wouldn't have had to have so many casinos if they would have gone into the genuine Indian Artifact Trade business.  LOL

Well, with that, I will proceed on.  It is not only the moccasins that got me to going, it is just everything.  I know that we are blessed to have cheap articles of clothing.  That is to say, some of them are cheap.  Did Levis, or High dollar athletic shoes, just to name a few, get any cheaper when they went south or abroad for production?  Nope..They just guaranteed more profit for they company.  A few years ago, there were 2 wrangler plants in Oklahoma.  "The plants are obsolete and we will have to rebuild them". was the excuse for building them south of the border.    Even our furniture manufacturers have went overseas.  I could go on and on about this but you get the picture and I am sure I am getting boring.  Look at the labels.  Our products are made all over the world except here in the USA.  Well, I guess that is pretty harsh as some things are made here, but they are hard to find.  

I know I have been on this soapbox before, but I am still proud to be a product of America and I look for things that are labeled ..Made in the USA... They are few and far between.