Gourds (Lagenaria vulgaris Ser.), “jicaˈwîgan” [hollow like]. The Ojibwe cultivate the gourds, which they eat when young, before the rind has hardened. They also make use of them for drinking and dipping cups, and for rattles in the medicine lodge. The medicine man, “mîdewag”, keeps the rhythm of his songs by shaking them. They are pierced, kernels of corn or shells inserted, and then corked again for use.
EQUISETACEAE (HORSETAIL FAMILY)
Field Horsetail (Equisetum arvense L.), “gîjiˈ bînûsk” [duck food].[137] The Pillager Ojibwe gather this for their domesticated ducks to eat and also to feed their ponies, to make their coats glossy.
ERICACEAE (HEATH FAMILY)
Bog Rosemary (Andromeda glaucophylla Link.), “bîneˈ mîkci” [swamp]. Young, tender leaves and tips of this plant are used by the Flambeau Ojibwe to boil for a beverage tea. While they often pick and use it fresh on the hunting trail, they also gather and dry it for later use. It is not a bad substitute for “store tea.”
Leather Leaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata [L.] Moench.), “wabackîkiˈ bûg” [rabbit leaf]. This is another beverage tea leaf, prized by the Flambeau Ojibwe. It is used on the trail or dried and saved for future use. The Pillager Ojibwe also use it in the same manner, under the name,—“mackiˈ gobûgons” [little swamp leaf].
Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens L.), “wînîsiˈ bûgûd” [dirty leaf], shown in [plate 75], fig. 2. While the Flambeau Ojibwe use this as a rheumatic medicine, they also use the leaf tea from the youngest, tenderest leaves as a beverage tea, and especially favor it because it “makes them feel good”. They also eat the wintergreen berry which they call “owînîsiˈ mîn”.
Labrador Tea (Ledum groenlandicum Oeder.), “waboskîkiˈ bûg” [rabbit leaf], shown in [plate 76], fig. 2. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the tender leaves of this plant for a beverage tea, and will even eat the leaves in the tea. It is a well known tea to many northern and Canadian Indians.
Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos L.), “mûckiˈ mîn” [swamp berry] shown in [plate 67], fig. 2. This is an important wild food of the Flambeau Indians and also of the Pillager Ojibwe, who use a slightly different pronunciation, “mûckîtciˈ mîn” [swamp berry]. The train men that go through that reservation never seem to tire of getting Johnnie Frog to say “cranberry pie” for them in Ojibwe. It sounds so complicated because they really have no word for pie in their language but must say, “swamp berries made into sauce rolled between bread”,—“mûckiˈ gimînûn backiˈ mînasîgûn wiwegidaˈsîgûn”.
Blueberry (Vaccinium pennsylvanicum Lam.), “mînûn” [berries]. The Flambeau and the Pillager Ojibwe harvest quantities of blueberries both for themselves and to sell. They dry them in large quantities on raised scaffolds of rush mats, like currants, or raisins, which they somewhat resemble. In the winter, they like to cook them with dried sweet corn, sweetened with maple sugar. They also cook them with wild rice, and venison and make a sweet bread with them. They have different names for different varieties of blueberries. The Low Blueberry (V. vacillans Kalm.) is called “gimîneˈsît” while the low Black Blueberry (V. nigrum [Wood] Britton) is called “makateˈ mîn” [black blueberry]. No specimens of the last two were secured, but the names were common among the Ojibwe.