Hop (Humulus lupulus L.) “jiˈwîciniˈ goniˈ bûg”. The Pillager Ojibwe often use the hop fruit as a substitute for baking soda.
VITACEAE (VINE FAMILY)
Virginia Creeper (Psedera quinquefolia [L.] Greene), “manîdoˈ bimakwît” [spirit twisted]. The Pillager Ojibwe say that the root of this vine was cooked and eaten a long time ago by their people and that it had been given as a special food by Winabojo.
River-bank Grape (Vitis vulpina L.), “cîˈ wimînûn”. The Pillager Ojibwe use these grapes after they have been frosted, and make them into jelly for winter use.
OJIBWE VEGETAL FIBERS
The Ojibwe Indians have always been far removed from the beaten paths of the white men, and for this reason make good use of their native plant materials. Oft times, it seems to the white man that they bestow considerable labor, upon making cord, string, mats, baskets and similar articles that might as easily be purchased at a store. But money is not plentiful, and many of the things that can be purchased have inferior lasting qualities. Disgust for a poor substitute, pride in their own resourcefulness, and the habit of centuries has kept them constantly proving that they are the master of their environment and continuing to make their products in the good old Ojibwe way.
Outside of yarn sashes, they have not woven textiles for a long time. Perhaps the last of their textile work is in storage bags made from nettle fiber or basswood string. Cedar bark fiber was used long ago for some coarse textiles but not within the past century.
Their bark wigwams are quite comfortable and probably more Ojibwe live in these native houses, shown in [plate 46], fig. 2, and [plate 58], fig. 2, than in frame houses. Certainly they use more of these than any other Wisconsin tribe. The mats for the benches or beds at the outer rim of the wigwam, or for the floor inside, are skillfully made. They can make their wigwams wind and waterproof with sewed cat-tail mats and birch bark, as shown in [plate 46], fig. 2, and can even live very comfortably in their wigwams in sub-zero temperatures.