Marty,
 
It is a pity I did not think of these things back 25+ years ago when Mary  
Price brought me her medicine bag. I did not know chicken from hawk feet then  
and probably would not know now. But I did recognize the historical importance  
of the items and strove to make her feel comfortable with retaining the bag 
and  contents for historical and family values. Now that you mention it, I am 
sure  there are Cherokee historians who could provide answers to all her 
questions.  But, given her chain smoking back then, I would be surprised if she is 
still  alive.
 
Your experience with the Irish immigrants is interesting. Back around 2000,  
when I delivered the paper to the SHA on concealments, I sat with a group of  
archaeologists in a Greek restaurant. The waitress, who was a Hungarian  
immigrant, explained how they ward her houses with items to prevent evil ghosts  
from entering during the night. Another person told me Europeans carve  
protective marks on the sills, lintels, and other obscure places for the same  reason. 
They rationalize these practices within variations on Judaeo-Christian  
religions, but the root was probably pre-Christian. I am certain the concealed  
boot/shoe tradition is non-Christian, as pagans who have been willing to talk  
admit as much. 
 
Ron