Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians

by Huron H. Smith

CORNACEAE (DOGWOOD FAMILY)

Alternate-leaved Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia L. f.), “mosoˈmîc” [moose tree]. The bark of this dogwood is used for kinnikinnik, while the twigs are used in thatching and for various purposes by the Pillager Ojibwe.

Panicled Dogwood (Cornus paniculata L’Her.), “meskwabiˈmîc” [red tree]. The Flambeau Ojibwe make kinnikinnik from the bark of this species for smoking.

CYPERACEAE (SEDGE FAMILY)

Wool Grass (Scirpus cyperinus [L.] Kunth.), “gaîeˈwûckûk”. The Flambeau Ojibwe use these small rushes for a certain kind of mat, and formerly used them for woven bags for storage.

Great Bulrush (Scirpus validus Vahl.), “jîkaˈmiûskûn”. The Pillager Ojibwe use this rush for their best mats. The bleached rushes are shown in [plate 51], fig. 1, after they have been immersed in water for a few days and then cleansed. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the same rush in the same way. They select long rushes, with small diameters, so that the pith content is small. When the mat is in service, such a fiber will not crush readily. The rush when gathered is an intense green, white only at the base where it stands in water. All rushes must first be bleached pure white, and afterwards colored as desired. They are pulled, rather than cut, in order to obtain the maximum length. When thoroughly bleached and dried, they dye them with white men’s dyes. Formerly they used native dyes, which they really prefer. The writer tried for a long time to secure the proper dyes for Whitefeather, but without success. They had a small quantity of German dye bought in 1914, which was satisfactory, but the six lots sent them were not equal to the small sample in penetration nor permanence. The bleached rushes preponderate in any rug, and are ivory-white in color. The finished rug or mat is three feet wide and from four to eight feet long, and sells for from $8 to $30.[146] The edge is bound securely with nettle fiber cord. The Flambeau Ojibwe use a more general term in referring to the rushes “anaˈganûck” meaning rushes in general.

EQUISETACEAE (HORSETAIL FAMILY)

Scouring Rush (Equisetum hyemale L.), “gîjiˈbînûsk” [duck plant]. The Pillager Ojibwe, besides using this for a medicine, employ a handful of the stems to scour their kettles and pans.

FAGACEAE (BEECH FAMILY)

White Oak (Quercus alba L.), “mîtîˈgomîc”. The wood is of much value to all the Ojibwe, especially for making awls to punch holes in birch bark as they are sewing it with Jack Pine roots. They use it in making wigwams and for several other things. In fact, all the oaks are used and appreciated.

GRAMINEAE (GRASS FAMILY)

Sweet Grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum L.), “wîckoˈbimûckoˈsi” [sweet grass]. While Sweet Grass is scarce around the Flambeau and Pillager reservations, they secure it elsewhere for making baskets, and say that in olden times it was used ceremonially because of its persistent sweet scent.

HYDROPHYLLACEAE (WATERLEAF FAMILY)

Virginia Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum L.), “nebîneˈnanikweˈîag.” [having hair on only one side]. According to White Cloud, Pillager Ojibwe, this root was chopped up and put into pony feed to make them grow fat and have glossy hair.

JUGLANDACEAE (WALNUT FAMILY)

Shell-bark Hickory (Carya ovata [Mill.] K. Koch.), “mîtîgwabaˈk” [wooden?]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the wood for making bows. Some are quite particular about the piece of wood they select, choosing a billet from the tree that includes heart wood on one side and sap wood on the other. The heart wood is the front of the bow in use, while the sap wood is nearest the user. It is likewise a wood of general utility.

JUNCACEAE (RUSH FAMILY)

Dudley’s Rush (Juncus dudleyi Wiegand), “jîgomiˈûskûn”. The Pillager Ojibwe use this tiny rush in their finest mat work, for small pieces.

LEGUMINOSAE (PULSE FAMILY)

Creamy Vetchling (Lathyrus ochroleucus, Hook.), “bûgwaˈdjûk pîniˈkmîneˈbûg” [unusual potato, berry leaf]. The leaves and roots of this were used by the Pillager Ojibwe to put spirit into a pony just before they expected to race him.

Marsh Vetchling (Lathyrus palustris L.), “bebejiˈgoganjiˈ mackiˈki” [horse medicine or literally “animal with only one hoof” medicine]. The foliage was specially fed to a pony by the Pillager Ojibwe to make it grow fat.

MYRICACEAE (BAYBERRY FAMILY)

Sweet Fern (Myrica asplenifolia L.), “gibaimeˈnûnagwûs” [coverer]. This word is almost the same as the Menomini word for Sweet Fern and means the same thing. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the leaves to line their buckets when they pick blueberries and also cover them with the leaves, to keep them from spoiling.

OLEACEAE (OLIVE FAMILY)

Black Ash (Fraxinus nigra Marsh). Black Ash is the wood chosen for basketry splints by the Ojibwe. While our Wisconsin Indians are skilled at basket making, their product is more useful than highly ornamental. If they had the yucca leaves, the devil’s claw fiber, the sumac twigs, the bunch grass, and the other splendid basketry fibers of the southwestern Indians, no doubt they would make equally fine baskets. The Wisconsin Indians exercise possibly more ingenuity in gathering and preparing their basketry material. They select a Black Ash log from a swamp and peel it carefully. Then with a butcher knife, they make a cut about a half inch deep and by pounding with an axe head cause it to split up from the log, as seen in [plate 50], figure 1. By inserting wedges, and continually pounding ahead of them, they cause the wood to separate along the annual rings. Then a further cut is made in the center of the annual ring and the two halves peeled back leaving a glossy surface. These splints are curled up into coils to be immersed in kettles of dye stuffs. Then they are woven by the women of the household as shown in [plate 50], figure 2.

Red Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.), “aˈgîmak” [snow-shoe wood]. All ash wood is quite valuable to the Ojibwe, as they use it for bows and arrows, snow-shoe frames, sleds, basketry splints and cradle boards as shown in [plate 49], fig. 2. The Red Ash is not used for the basketry splints when they can get Black Ash.

PINACEAE (PINE FAMILY)

Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea [L.] Mill.), “jîngoˈb” [any kind of fir tree]. More properly “jîngoˈb pikewaˈndag” [fir tree that goes up to a peak]. The Ojibwe chop a hole in the trunk and allow the resin to accumulate and harden. When gathered and boiled it becomes a canoe pitch. It is usually boiled a second time with the addition of suet or fat to make a canoe pitch of the proper consistency. Another name given the tree is “jîngoˈbandag”.

Tamarack (Larix laricina [DuRoi] Koch), “mûckiˈgwatîg” [swamp tree]. Larch roots are also used as a sewing material by the Flambeau and Couderay Ojibwe and they used to sew canoes with them. They also make bags from the root fibers, which are considered especially durable.

Black Spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] BSP.), “jîngwûp” [its name]. The Flambeau and Couderay Ojibwe used these roots to sew canoes, and from incisions in the bark gathered the resin to be boiled with tallow to make pitch for caulking canoes.

Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), “gîgaˈndag” [its name]. Jack Pine roots have ever been esteemed by all Ojibwe as fine sewing material for their canoes and other coarse and durable sewing. They dig the roots with a grub hoe as shown in [plate 55], fig. 1, and often find them fifty or sixty feet long. These are split lengthwise into two halves starting at the tree end, and are wrapped in coils as shown in [plate 55], fig. 2. They are then sunk in the lake which loosens the bark and enables them to be scraped clean, as well as adding to their flexibility. They are an ivory white when used and very tough and flexible. An Ojibwe woman is shown sewing a canoe with them in [plate 56], figure 2.

Norway Pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.), “abakwanûgiˈmûg” [bark in plates], shown in [plate 63], fig. 2. The Flambeau Ojibwe gather resin from the Norway Pine just as they do from the White Pine, Balsam and Spruce, by chopping a hole into the trunk and collecting the resin as it forms. It is boiled twice, being combined with tallow the second time, to make a serviceable waterproof pitch. This is not only used for caulking canoes, but for mending roof rolls of birch bark and other things. The wood is also utilized.

White Pine (Pinus strobus L.), “jîngwaˈkwacêskweˈdo” [white pine cone], shown in [plate 63], fig. 1. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the pitch from the boiled cones, along with the resin that flows from boxed trees, for caulking and waterproofing purposes.

Arbor Vitae (Thuja occidentalis L.), “giˈjîg” [cedar or sky]. The Ojibwe worships the Arbor Vitae or White Cedar and the Paper or Canoe Birch, as the two most useful trees in the forest. The pungent fragrance of the leaves and wood of the Arbor Vitae are always an acceptable incense to Winabojo, and the wood is their choice for light, strong straight-grained canoe frames and ribs, as shown in [plate 53], figure 2. In earlier times, the tough stringy bark was used in making fiber bags, but these are scarcely ever seen today.

Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis [L.] Carr.), “gagagiˈwîc” [its name]. Hemlock bark was used by the Flambeau Ojibwe for fuel, when boiling their pitch the second time, because the heat from it was more easily regulated than that from a wood fire.