Carved and Painted Wooden Moccasins Letter Opener (?)

I'm getting more and more into carved wooden objects, and this may be my favorite of them yet. I am not entirely sure if the "blade" was meant to be a letter opener or knife or what not, but these moccasins are just fantastic! The carving itself is great, and then the shoes have been painted with a terrific amount of detail: patterns of stripes, triangles, dots on the tops, and then a series of "M"s around the sides. Plus, a great little banding of red and green lines near the top of the blade. I am guessing this piece is Native American, likely Northeast Coast as I found it in Maine, and would guess 1940s or earlier. 

There is a chip in the wood at the point of the blade, but otherwise this piece is in very good condition with a great patina. It measures 7" long x 2 3/4" wide x 3/4" tall.