ORCHIDACEAE (ORCHIS FAMILY)
Yellow Ladies’ Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum Salisb. var. pubescens [Willd.] Knight), “maˈ kasîn” [moccasin].[115] Among the Pillager Ojibwe, the root of this species is said to be a good remedy for female troubles of all kinds. The white man has used it as a gentle tonic for the nerves, a stimulant and antispasmodic, similar to Valerian, only less powerful.
Rein Orchis (Habenaria bracteata [Willd.] R. Br.), “gokoˈcgûnda mînêskweˈ mîn” [pig-woman enticer root]. The Ojibwe Pillager would smuggle this into food as an aphrodisiac, which they considered a bad use and not to be talked about or countenanced. There is no record of its use by the white men.
Adder’s Mouth (Microstylis unifolia [Michx.] BSP.) “aîaˈ nîkotciˈ mîn” [twisted berry]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the tiny root of this plant to mix with Bush Honeysuckle bark (Diervilla lonicera) as a diuretic. There is no record of its use by white men.
PAPAVERACEAE (POPPY FAMILY)
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis L.)[116] “meskwaˈ djiˈ bîkûk” [red root]. The Pillager Ojibwe use the orange-red juice of the Bloodroot to cure sore throat. The juice is squeezed out on a lump of maple sugar, and this is retained in the mouth until it has melted away. They also use the juice to paint the face for the medicine lodge ceremony or when on the warpath.
Sanguinaria is official only in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, and in small doses it produces a sense of warmth in the stomach and stimulates gastric secretion. It is given as an expectorant and in larger doses as an emetic.
PINACEAE (PINE FAMILY)
Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea [L.] Mill), “jîngoˈ b” [any kind of fir tree name], shown in [plate 62], fig. 1. While the Flambeau Ojibwe call the tree “jîngoˈ b” as a short term, the full name of the Balsam Fir according to them is “jîngoˈ b pîkewaˈ ndag”. They claim that the liquid balsam is used direct from the bark blister upon the eyes, for sore eyes. The leaves are a reviver or “abaˈ bûsûn” and are also used in combinations as a wash. The Pillager Ojibwe call it “jîngoˈ bandag”, and use the balsam gum for colds and to heal sores. This corresponds to the way the Hudson Bay Indians use the bark. The needle-like leaves are placed upon live coals and the smoke is inhaled for colds. They are also used as a part of the medicine for the sweat bath.
The sweat bath is taken in a small hemispherical wigwam, like the regular abode, but entirely covered with mats or nowadays with canvas. The medicines are coiled into wreaths to fit into large iron kettles. Water is added and finally hot rocks which cause steam. The Indian taking the sweat bath may be taking it for ceremonial reasons, for cleansing, but most likely as a medicated steam bath. He sits naked within until there is no more steam and his body is entirely dried again. He then puts on all clean clothes and will not wear the discarded clothes until they have all been thoroughly washed. The candidate for degrees in the medicine lodge, must undergo the sweat bath in a ceremonial way. Usual plants employed to medicate the steam are White Pine leaves, Hemlock leaves, Arbor Vitae leaves, Wild Bergamot plant, Balsam needles, Peppermint plants, and the like. They are undoubtedly very beneficial to the health. Canada balsam is accounted the same medicinally as turpentine, but its principal value to the white man today is its perfect transparency and peculiar optical properties, which fit it for use in mounting microscopic specimens.
Tamarack (Larix laricina [Du Roi] Koch), “mûckîgwaˈ tîg” [swamp tree], shown in [plate 60], fig. 2. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the dried leaves as an inhalant and fumigator, “nokweˈsîkûn”. Larch bark has been highly valued in the past in chronic bronchitis with profuse expectoration, in chronic inflammation of the urinary passages, and in phases of hemorrhage.
White Spruce (Picea canadensis [Mill.] BSP.), “gawaˈ ndag”, shown in [plate 62], fig. 2. The leaves of White Spruce are used in the same manner as Larch, as a “nokweˈsîkûn”, an inhalant or fumigator. The needle oil is considered about the same as turpentine, by white men.
Black Spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] BSP.), “jingwûp”. If the bark is meant as a medicinal salt, then its name is “jingwûˈ p gawaˈ ndag” but if the leaves are the part meant for a reviver, “aba busun”, then it carries only the name “jingwup”. The needle oil is used by white men the same as turpentine.
Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), “gîgaˈ ndag”. The leaves are used as a reviver,—“nokweˈ sîkûn” according to the Flambeau Ojibwe. There is no record of its medicinal use by the white men.
Norway Pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.), “abakwanûg iˈmûg” [bark in plates], shown in [plate 63], fig. 2. The Norway Pine is used in all particulars by the Flambeau Ojibwe, just as the White Pine.
White Pine (Pinus strobus L.), “jîngwak kweseskweˈ tûk” according to Bearskin of the Flambeau Ojibwe, shown in [plate 63], fig. 1, “jîngwak waceskweˈdo” according to Charley Burns of the Flambeau Ojibwe. The bark medicine is, “jîngwak onaˈ gêk” and is gathered in the same manner as by the Menomini, with a song to grandmother Earth, and the placing of tobacco on the ground. The cones, when boiled and likewise the bark of the young tree trunk yield a pitch which is medicine, called “jîngwak bûgîo.” The dried leaves are powdered and used as a reviver or inhalant. There are three names referring to this sort of treatment, as said before,—“nokweˈ sîkûn”, “sasaˈ bîkwat” and “abaˈ bûsûn”. Of these three terms, “sasaˈ bîkwat” is the proper one to use when White Pine needles are employed in this manner. White Pine is a very valuable remedy with all Ojibwe, but Norway Pine is sometimes substituted for it. White Pine bark is used in making cough syrup, by white men, but it possesses only feeble properties as an expectorant.
Arbor Vitae (Thuja occidentalis L.), “giˈ jîkandag” [sky or cedar tree].[117] The Flambeau Ojibwe use the leaves as a perfume, “abaˈ bûsûn” and also as a tea for headache. During ceremonies of the medicine lodge, it is necessary to purify sacred objects and the hands and persons of participants. A plate of live coals is used and dried Arbor Vitae leaves placed upon them. The servitor wafts the incense over sacred objects by fanning the smoke with his hands. Others hold their hands over and in the smoke, waving it upon their persons.
The Pillager Ojibwe call it by the simple name “giˈ jîk” [sky or cedar]. They also use it as a purifying incense, and as an ingredient for the sweat bath with White Pine, Balsam, Hemlock and other plants. They drink the boiled leaves claiming that the steam goes through the blood and purifies it. This treatment cures coughs.
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia formerly required that leaves for medicinal use be in a fresh state but the new formulary only requires them to be recently dried and leafy. Internally it has been used for an emmenagogue, for fevers, bronchial catarrh, rheumatism and to remove intestinal worms. Externally it is applied in ointment to treat ulcers, warts and cancerous growths.
Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis [L.] Carr.), “gagagiˈ wîc” [raven tree]. The Flambeau Ojibwe medicine man puts the leaves in his medicinal tea to disguise the taste. The bark is used for healing cuts and wounds, and for stopping the flow of blood from a wound. The bark is rich in tannin and naturally quite astringent. White men have used the bark and its resulting pitch as substitutes for burgundy pitch in making plasters. These have been used as external remedies for lumbago, chronic rheumatic pains, chronic bronchitis and pleurisy.