Shoes and bears

I was struck by the first line of the new poem by Halfbreeds Reasoning


" my kokum used to tell me:

“if you wear your shoes on the wrong feet

a bear will eat you.”

My Mooshum always said the same thing.  It was one of those moments when you get a little insight into a person long gone.  This was not just a weird thing he said, but was a piece of a story or dialogue stretching back into the Métis community.  Did any of you have relatives who had this saying?  Do you know if there is a story related to this statement?