TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: Minor typographical errors have been addressed, but standardisation of the differing spelling of Ojibwe words has not been attempted.

BULLETIN
OF THE
PUBLIC MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF MILWAUKEE

Vol. 4, No. 3, Pp. 327-525, Plates 46-77

May 2, 1932

Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe
Indians

By
Huron H. Smith

MILWAUKEE, WIS., U. S. A.

Published by Order of the Board of Trustees

Printed by the
AETNA PRESS, INC.
Milwaukee, Wis.

Engravings by the
SCHROEDER ENGRAVING COMPANY
Milwaukee, Wis.

Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians

CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS

Plates

FOREWORD

This bulletin is the third in a series of six, recounting the field work done among Wisconsin Indians to discover their present uses of native or introduced plants and, insofar as is possible, the history of these plant uses by their ancestors. As far back as 1888 Hoffman[85] reported that the medicinal lore of the Ojibwe would soon be gone. But thirty-two years later, it is still partially recalled and practised among the more primitive bands of these people. How long it will persist is problematical. The Ojibwe are the most numerous of any of our tribes and as long as they live in the northern forest and lake district of Wisconsin, so long will the older Indians continue to explain the natural history of their environment to the young men and women of the tribe.

The writer deplores the brevity of the time that could be devoted to each tribe, and applauds the similar study reported by Miss Frances Densmore[86] in her fifteen years of research among the Ojibwe. Necessarily the most valuable information comes from the oldest Indians, and many informants have died since this study was made.

Three trips were made, usually of six weeks duration. The first was made in June, 1923 to the Lac du Flambeau Reservation, in Vilas County, Wisconsin. The same region was visited again later in the fall. During the spring of 1924 one trip was made to Leech Lake, Minnesota, where the remnant of the Pillager Band of the Ojibwe live on Bear Island, ([Plate 60], fig. 1), and the surrounding mainland. Since then, trips have been made to Redcliff, Bayfield County, to Odanah, Iron County, to Lac Court Oreilles, Clark County, and to scattered bands in various sections of northern Wisconsin. The principal work was done at Lac du Flambeau and Leech Lake. The Leech Lake trip checked results obtained at Lac du Flambeau.

The writer thanks those officials and private citizens who assisted by introductions to Indians and by making his stay among them comfortable. Mr. James W. Balmer, Indian Agent, then at Lac du Flambeau, now at Pipestone, Minnesota, and his chief clerk, Mr. Walter H. Shawnee, a Shawnee Indian, still in service at Lac du Flambeau, and Mr. John Allen, Ojibwe Indian and school disciplinarian all gave valued advice and quartered us at their Teacher’s Club. Mr. Edward Rogers, of Walker, Minnesota, a very successful Ojibwe attorney, and the Noble brothers, Mr. John W. Noble and Mr. E. W. (“Van”) Noble, proprietor of Forest View Lodge, directly across from Bear Island, rendered valuable assistance with the Pillager band of Ojibwe.

The writer collected every plant he could find in each region because he had been informed that the Ojibwe differ from other Wisconsin Indians in that they believe that every plant that grows is some kind of medicine or useful for something. The only plants discovered for which they had no name or use were adventive plants, and one could fairly well establish the date of their appearance in the state, because the Indians pay much more attention to our native flora than do the whites.

Most of our informants were men, because they found it easier to talk to the writer than the women. It was easy to get the women to talk of old time methods of preparing aboriginal foods. The Ojibwe had a large number of hunting medicines used as charms. These were accompanied by drawings on the ground designating what they hoped to accomplish in killing game for their larder. About sixty-five per cent of their medicinal plants were actually valuable medicinally, the remainder being employed in a shamanistic or superstitious manner. The writer concludes that their great knowledge of plants has been achieved through long periods of time by a process of trial and error, basing this belief upon their fear of mushrooms. Both men and women pointed out plants in their native habitat and were willing to explain their uses. They are the real ones to thank for the facts discovered and without their cooperation such a study would be impossible. A list of them follows.

In conformity with previous bulletins, the plants will be listed (1) under their various uses and (2) under each of these captions, alphabetically by their families. Where possible, the literal translation of the Indian name is given.[87]

INFORMANTS

In the course of this work many informants have assisted the author, among whom the following residents of Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin, should be noted:

Jas. W. Balmer, Indian Agent; Walter H. Shawnee, Chief Clerk; Charley Burns, Cagkecci, Indian Policeman; John Allen, Indian Disciplinarian; Anawabi (Exalted One) Village Chief; Jack Doud, Kêkêk (Sparrow-hawk) Captain in Civil War; Bert Skye, Anawabi’s Son; Mrs. Bert Skye; Bear Skin, Mûkwean (Bearskin) Medicine Man; Jack Patterson, Sîkurtz, of Sand Lake; Long John Bear of Pelican Lake; John White Feather, Wabackiˈganeˈbi, of Flambeau Lake; Mrs. John White Feather; Webujuonokwe, of Flambeau village; Amîkons (Young Beaver) of Flambeau village.

We also received information from the following residents of Leech Lake, Minnesota, Ga-sagaˈskwadjiˈmêkag:

Ben Smith, Pcikci (Deer) of Boy Lake, Minnesota; Edward Rogers of Walker, Minnesota; John Peper, Jigwaˈbe of Bear Island; Piˈawantagiˈnûm, Peper’s mother; White Cloud, Wabackaˈnakwad (White Cloud) of Bear Island; Inwapiˈkwe, White Cloud’s wife; Wasawanaˈkwît, White Cloud’s son of Federal Dam, Minnesota; John Smith, Ajoˈvbêneˈsa of Bear Island; Mowîcgaˈwûs of Bear Island; Ed Coming, Getakiˈbînes, of Brevick, Minnesota.

Miciˈmîn (Apple), Chief, and John Goslin, Wabackiˈganeˈbi, of Lac Court Oreilles, Wisconsin, also contributed information.

PHONETIC KEY

The Ojibwe have written their language for a longer time than any other Algonquin tribe and, while they employ a syllabary[88] in corresponding with absent members of the tribe, it has little value to the ethnologist. The writer has two books printed in English and Ojibwe. One is “A collection of Chippeway and English Hymns”, translated by Peter Jones, Indian Missionary, the second edition of which was printed by the Methodist Book Concern in 1847. This was given to the writer by Mr. Henry Ritchie, an Ojibwe, of Laona, Wisconsin. The other is “A Dictionary of the Otchipwe Language”, explained in English, Part 1, English-Otchipwe, by R.R. Bishop Baraga, published by Beauchemin and Valois, Montreal, in 1878. This was given to the writer by Capt. John Valentine Satterlee, of the Menomini tribe, Keshena, Wisconsin. With the aid of either of them one experiences little difficulty in pronouncing Ojibwe words.

In this bulletin, the following phonetic system will be used.

VOWELS

• a as in art
• ä as in flat
• e as in prey
• ê as in met
• i as in police
• î as in bit
• o as in go
• û as in luck
• u as in rule
• w, y and h as in English
• ai as in aisle

CONSONANTS

While the writer is not a linguist, Indian pronunciation came easily to him and he was able to pronounce all plant names in an intelligible manner to Ojibwe people whom he had never seen before.

INTRODUCTION

The subjects of this bulletin, the Ojibwe Indians, have probably been designated by more different spellings of their name than any other tribe in the country. The anglicized version is Chippewa, an adaptation of the Ojibway of Longfellow. Ojibway means “to roast till puckered up,” referring to the puckered seams on their moccasins, from “Ojib”, “to pucker up”, “ub-way”, “to roast”. In historic literature some of the more common ways of spelling their name have been: Achipoes, Chepeways, Chipaways, Odjibwag, Otchipwe, Uchipweys. Less familiar names applied to them have been: Baouichtigouin, Bawichtigouek, Dewakanha, Dshipowehaga, Estiaghicks, Hahatwawne, Khahkhahtons, Neayaog, Ninniwas, Saulteur, Santeaux, Wahkahtowah and at least fifty others.

The Ojibwe is one of the largest tribes in the United States and Canada, and lived originally along both shores of the Great Lakes as far west as the Turtle Mountains, North Dakota. They are of Algonkian stock and in the north are closely related to the Cree and Maskegon tribes. In the south, through Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota they have always been closely associated with the Ottawa and Pottawatomi. These three have been recently called the Three Fires Confederacy. Their languages were even similar, and Pottawatomi have often told the writer that their tongue was an abbreviated Ojibwe language,—“like it was a nickname”.

This numerous people lived far away from the frontiers of the colonial war period, hence are not often mentioned in the early history of the United States. The original habitation of the Ojibwe in Wisconsin is supposed to have been at La Pointe, a town no longer in existence, in Ashland County, near Lake Superior. The first reference to them in history is in the Jesuit Relation of 1640 when they resided at Sault Ste. Marie. It is thought that Nicolet met them either in 1634 or 1639. Father Allouez found them at Superior, Wisconsin, in 1665-67. According to Perrot,[89] in 1670-99 those Ojibwe on the Lake Superior shore of Wisconsin cultivated corn and were living peaceably with their neighbors, the Sioux. About this time they first obtained fire-arms, and pushed their way westward fighting with the Sioux and the Meskwaki. The French established a trading post at Shangawawmikong, afterwards La Pointe, in 1692, which was the most important Ojibwe settlement in Wisconsin.

In the early years of the eighteenth century, the Ojibwe succeeded in driving the Meskwaki from northern Wisconsin, when the Meskwaki joined forces with the Sauk Indians. The Ojibwe then turned their attention to the Sioux, driving them across the Mississippi and as far as the Turtle Mountains in North Dakota. The Ojibwe took part in frontier settlement wars up to the close of the war of 1812. Those living within the United States made a treaty with the Government in 1815 and have since remained peaceful, with the exception of a minor uprising among the Pillager Band of Ojibwe on Leech Lake, Minnesota. Most of them live on reservations or allotted land in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota. There was a small band of Swan Creek and Black River Ojibwe who sold their lands in Michigan in 1836 and went to live with the Munsee, in Franklin County, Kansas.

It was represented to the writer that the Pillager Band of Ojibwe should be quite interesting and primitive since they were the only unsubdued Indians left in the United States. They are supposed to have revolted during the Civil War, when Government attention was concentrated on determining whether or not, the Union should be preserved. They pillaged a small town, killed the inhabitants, took all of the food stores and fled to Bear Island in Leech Lake, Minnesota, shown in [plate 60], fig. 1. Again, while the United States was at war with Spain in 1898, the Ojibwe complained bitterly about certain irregularities in regard to the disposal of the dead and fallen timber on Leech Lake Reservation. They accused white speculators of firing the woods to create a class of timber known as dead and down timber, thus depriving them of their winter livelihood in logging operations.[90]

Rather indiscriminate arrests of the Pillager Indians by United States marshals caused resentment and the actual warfare was caused by the attempt of a deputy marshal to arrest certain Indians accused of selling whiskey on the reservation. On September 15, 1898, two Indians were arrested by deputy marshals and rescued by their comrades. Warrants were issued for the arrest of the more than twenty Indians who had assisted in the rescue. Since the marshals feared the Indians, they asked for the assistance of troops. It was thought that a show of force by regular troops would be sufficient. Twenty men of the Third Regiment U. S. Infantry were sent, but since the Indians showed no sign of yielding eighty more left Fort Snelling for Walker, Minnesota. Major M. C. Wilkinson and General J. M. Bacon were in charge.

Two small lake steamers and a barge took the troops to Bear Island, and they anchored in shoal water just across from the island, proceeding by barge to the mainland. The battle took place at the house of Bujonegicig, who died only a few years ago. The troops were fired upon from the woods and Major Wilkinson, Sergeant Butler and four privates were killed. Ten were wounded. On October 6, 1898, 214 more troops came to assist, but no further firing was encountered and the uprising was over. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs, W. A. Jones, arrived from Washington, October 10. The next morning he and Father Aloysius, a priest with great influence over the Indians, held a long and friendly conference with the Pillager chiefs investigating and settling the timber complaints. Troops flooded that country and persuaded the Bear Islanders to respond to the warrants. They were duly tried, sentenced and fined, but the fines were remitted and after two months imprisonment the sentences were commuted and pardons granted.

The writer found but few who remembered the battle, for while there were over a hundred men able to bear arms in 1898, the Ojibwe could not successfully fight the influenza attack of 1919 and the present population consists of only fourteen persons: John Peper, wife, daughter and mother; White Cloud, shown in [plate 59], fig. 2, wife and son; Moîckaˈwus and wife; John Smith, Frank Marshall, wife and two children. John Peper’s mother was said to be 106 years old and looked the part, as shown in [plate 59], fig. 1. John, her youngest boy was past 70 years of age. Another very old resident, John Smith, had died the year before the writer arrived. His age was said to be 138 years. His recollections are said to have included George Washington as President of the United States.

All of our Ojibwe residents in Wisconsin and those in Michigan and Minnesota were forest Indians and, as such, great hunters, although they cultivated maize in a small way. They made very superior birch bark canoes and were at home on the many lakes of the northland, subsisting largely on fish and game. While at the present time, they dress themselves to satisfy the pre-conceived ideas of tourists, in the early days, their headdress consisted of otter skin caps, often embellished with eagle feathers, one for each enemy slain in battle and consequently for each scalp secured. The great feathered bonnet was not of their culture, but has been more recently borrowed from the Plains Indians. They never used the tepee of the Plains Indians, such as is shown in [plate 46], fig. 2, and in [plate 58], fig. 2, but built a wigwam. The wigwam was easily constructed in a half-day’s time. Poles were thrust into the ground in a circle of from twelve to twenty feet, their tips bent and securely tied in the center with basswood bark cord to form a hemisphere, about eight feet in height at the center. The whole was then covered with bark of balsam, or woven cat-tail mats, such as the one shown in [plate 46], fig. 2, and roofed with birch bark. An entrance and smoke hole were left and mats thrown upon the ground. It was much warmer than a tepee and better adapted to the heavy snow fall of the north, and to low temperatures. All of their storage houses and their smaller sweat lodges were similarly made. Their medicine lodges followed the same construction though they were much longer: being eighty, a hundred and even a hundred and fifty feet in length.

We had occasion to see the medicine lodge in use several times during our stay at Lac du Flambeau. This lodge was in the old Flambeau village, just at the edge of the woods. It was a huge affair, about one hundred and fifty feet long, with a stout framework of saplings joined together and arched over at a height of eight feet. The framework was rigidly held together with other horizontal saplings secured by basswood bark cord at every junction of poles. It stood as a framework for several years. During use, the sides of this framework are covered with cat-tail mats and the top with sewed birch bark, as shown in figure 21, of the Museum’s 1923 Yearbook. By using a bone needle and nettle string the cat-tail mats are sewed together with an invisible stitch, that makes a windproof cover.

Down the center of the lodge is a long ellipse where countless dance steps have bared the earth of this otherwise grassy plot. The entrance of the lodge faces the east, and there is an exit to the west. A fire is usually burning just inside the eastern entrance, the smoke ascending through a smoke hole left in the roof. The medicine men are gathered to the left of the fire on the north while the patient is usually seated to the right of the fire on the south. The medicine drum in use during a treatment for healing is smaller than the dream dance drum, usually seen by tourists, and of a different shape. It is about eight inches in diameter and sixteen inches high. The buckskin stretched over the end is moistened from time to time by reversing the drum which contains water, and rubbing the skin to permit it to take up the liquid. The tone and volume are greatly enhanced by this procedure.

The medicine lodge members sit in groups around the lodge starting at the north side, and proceeding down to the west and back along the south side toward the east again. Every song and march around the lodge is repeated four times, this being their sacred number. The time needed in effecting a cure is varied but the writer has seen a woman carried in on a litter, recover in three hours time and take part in the dancing.

The Indian Service in the past has wished to discourage treatment by medicine men and on larger reservations has supplied a resident physician. It is a constant competition between the two, for naturally a white physician cannot cure every case any more than a medicine man can, and when the medicine man apparently effects cures after the physician has given up or appeared to produce no improvement, the credulous patients are going to continue to believe in the medicine men. Christianity has had but little effect upon the Ojibwe so far as the writer has been able to observe, largely because of the reputation of the medicine men among them.

According to the late Dr. William Jones, the ethnologist mentioned in “Ethnobotany of the Meskwaki Indians”, Part 2 of this volume, the Pillager Band of Bear Island occasionally practiced cannibalism ceremonially, and even as late as 1902 ate human flesh on the Rainy River during a famine. He cites the fact in 1905 that polygamy was once common and even still occurred among wandering bands.

Many visitors to the northland think of the country in terms of sand, and consider it unfit for use agriculturally. While sandy soil is common, it is also easy to find very good productive soil and in some cases even clay. The Indian settlements and homesteads were never extensive and four or five acres of land seem to suffice them for growing hay and garden crops. The agency Indian farmer maintains demonstration garden plots, such as the one shown in [plate 46], fig. 1, and also more extensive farms, and constantly advises with those who are trying to farm. The Indian women even grow some cultivated flowers. At Lac du Flambeau, the Ojibwe take great pride in their annual Indian fair and display farm animals, horticultural products, and native arts and crafts for premiums. It is a pity that more do not follow agriculture because they have sufficient farming land and have also good examples to follow. Most of them like the quick returns made in selling Indian art work, or made acting as guides for fishing and hunting parties. The easy money is too soon spent and they suffer considerably before the winter is over.

The native flora is about the same at both Lac du Flambeau and Leech Lake, and the species are by no means as varied as on the Menomonie Reservation. They make full use of everything that occurs with them except the adventive or introduced plants. They recognize regular types of soil as sources of their medicinal plants. Sandy meadows, sandy wastes, lakes, still ponds, swamps, upland swamps, rocky openings in the forest, evergreen forests, and hardwood forests all are searched for distinctive plants. The greatest number of species of native plants are found in the composite family and we find the Ojibwe making more use of these than any other tribe. The heath family contributes many species and is important to them. Grasses and sedges, while numerous in species are not so well known to them, although here again they use more species than the neighboring tribes.

John Whitefeather, of the Couderay Ojibwe, who adopted the writer into their tribe, related their origin myth. Briefly it is as follows: There has always been a controversy among the whites as to whether such an Indian as Hiawatha ever lived. Hiawatha is the name that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow gave to their cultural hero, Winabojo. Hiawatha or Winabojo was never seen by man, although sometimes both names have been used for proper names among the Ojibwe. Their great spirit or ruler of the universe was named Dzhe Manido.

According to Whitefeather, Winabojo was the one who caused the deluge that covered the world and was responsible for building it again. Winabojo was sitting at the mouth of a big river and noticed a stick bobbing up and down near the middle of the stream. He thought it was curious that it was not carried on down stream to the big lake and further thought that it would be fun to sit on the stick. So he swam out and sat on it. Dzhe Manido had told him two phrases, one of which he might sing to himself, which is translated “Lake must close in” and the other was “Lake should spread out”, and he must not say that. Winabojo became curious to see what would happen if he repeated the second of these phrases. He said it. Immediately the stick sank and he fell under. He swam back to the top but could discover no land. Other animals were swimming around, so he requested muskrat to dive down and get him some mud from the bottom of the lake. Muskrat dived down but it was too far and he drowned. The martin tried it and drowned. The otter tried it and drowned. Then beaver tried it and obtained some mud, but died as he reached the surface. Winabojo took the mud that remained between the claws of beaver and rolled it into a little ball. Winabojo made this ball grow as he rolled it around in his hands, while the animals swam around him. Finally the ball grew large enough for the fox to jump upon it and run around. Then it grew larger until all the animals could get upon it.

So Winabojo and the animals were the first inhabitants and Winabojo put the plants upon the world. Winabojo lived in a little valley with his grandmother, Nokomis. Against her wishes, he went on a voyage of exploration, leaving his valley to climb a hill. In the next valley he saw a lot of people all dancing and he wanted to dance with them. So he went down and danced all day, though none of them spoke to him or said a word to each other. When the wind died down at sunset, he discovered them to be only cattails, so he started back home. On his way he was approached by Cumpa. No one knows who sent Cumpa there, but we think that it was Dzhe Manido. Nokomis had told him that there were inhabitants somewhere on the earth. Winabojo sat down with Cumpa and they talked over the matter of how to regulate the world. In their conference they developed the medicine lodge idea and the Ojibwe count Winabojo as its founder. The painted post that they erect in their medicine lodge represents Winabojo. It is carved to resemble a human form, but not too closely, as they wish it to be understood that Winabojo is a god and not a human being.

Winabojo started during the month of July to hunt for the inhabitants of the earth and finally found them in the latter part of December or early January. Then he stayed with them for several months, teaching them the secrets of the medicine lodge. He told them how they must gather roots and what songs they must sing. A specimen song and its meaning is here given.

Nin ba ba odjiˈbîke

I go to gather roots;

oˈoˈweˈdasaˈssema

here is tobacco;

mînode ni nowi nîmîcîn

Give me direct guidance,

gi wedjiˈbîkeiˈen

You,-maker of roots

da mino wi djiˈbîkeiˈan.

That I may get the proper roots.

Their story of creation is the common one among the northern Algonkians. They believe that all objects, both animate and inanimate possess some mysterious power, and speak of that power as the manido that dwells in it. On the Lac du Flambeau Reservation, the writer saw two or three large stones, shown in [plate 48], fig. 2, that were thought to be spirit rocks. They also believed that the spirit of the departed brave often returns to the grave, as long as the body has not turned to dust. They often buried the body in a sitting position facing west, or in a shallow grave on its back or side, making a mound, over which bark, birch poles or boards were erected, to form a little grave house, as shown in [plate 51], fig. 2. This, they believe to be often inhabited by the spirit of the departed one which they occasionally feed with wild rice or dried jerky (deer meat) through a small opening. According to McKenney,[91] the Ojibwe of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, buried their dead in a box which was elevated upon a platform of poles. Mourning for the departed usually lasted a year, unless some medicine man shortened the time, or a relative performed some notable feat in war.

Their religion was the teachings of their Grand Medicine society or midewiwin. The Ojibwe are probably the strictest disciples of this society of any of our Wisconsin Indians and the part played by plants is the greatest of any factor. Things other than plants were used, such as rattlesnake meat, duck bones, clay and feathers, but these were so far in the minority that they are scarcely worth mentioning. According to the Ojibwe, every plant is medicine; if not to your particular informant, then to some other medicine man or woman. It was a matter of finding the proper informant to get the correct name and use. Consequently, in the field we gathered every tree, shrub, perennial or annual, herb or grass we encountered. All of these being medicinal plants were thus sacred to them and must be secured with the proper mide ceremony. This consisted of an explanatory song, and the offering of tobacco to grandmother, the earth, and Winabojo, their cultural hero.

The constant effort of the Government to educate the Indian is resulting in the gradual discarding of the medicine lodge ceremonies. The Ojibwe, who have stayed on the frontier of civilization, are among the last to change, and have clung tenaciously to their medicine society. As with other Wisconsin Indians, the Ojibwe love their children dearly and are rarely harsh to them. The children are taught to dance at an early age and while subsequent education may make them forget the names and uses of medicinal plants, they never forget the dance tunes and steps. It is a common conception among white men that it is useless to educate an Indian. Too many have agreed with Mark Twain that “the only good Indian is a dead one.” Stories are related concerning Indian college graduates that revert to the tepee and to the dog feast. Some of these may be true, but according to Indian psychology, there is nothing disgraceful about this. It is the fallacy of the white man in trying to impose his culture on other peoples and in always assuming that it is superior to any other way of living. We are prone to point to the exceptional fall from grace, and forget about the many who have made a success of their life according to our standards. There are many full-blooded Indian men and women in Milwaukee, who are useful citizens. Many Milwaukee men and women are proud of the Indian strain in their blood. Education has been of great assistance to the Ojibwe, who have many times proven that they have the same capabilities as their white brothers. The Indian has the same anatomical characteristics as the Caucasian race and is capable of going far along the road of education.

Since the field work among the Ojibwe was completed in 1923 and 1924, some scattering members of the tribe have adopted the peyote lodge. The Ojibwe are fond of visiting and, in the summer time, some are always away on visits to other tribes in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, the Dakotas, Kansas or Oklahoma. The old idea of fighting other tribes was forgotten long ago and they feel that all red men are their brothers. Those Ojibwe who have visited the Winnebago Indians in Wisconsin have been especially influenced to adopt the peyote cult. This rarely happens where the Ojibwe live in close contact with their tribesmen on reservations. But several live as isolated families on the shores of our northern lakes, and when they adopt the peyote religion they throw overboard all of their medicine lodge paraphernalia and beliefs.

The members of the peyote cult, chew and swallow the peyote buttons which are the button-shaped branches of a cactus (Lophophora williamsii) found in Texas, New Mexico and Old Mexico. The practice is said to have originated among the Indians of old Mexico. Under its narcotic influence the peyote Indian claims to see in a vision and to commune with Jesus Christ, who gives him the rule of conduct for his life. The Indians justify their use of peyote by comparing it to the sacramental wine of the white man. However, peyote carries a governmental disapproval and the Indian police are supposed to be vigilantly alert for peyote. A jail sentence, as well as confiscation of the supply of peyote, is meted out to any member they can detect using it.

Another type of ceremonial dance used by the Ojibwe, and in fact by all of the forest Indians of Wisconsin, is the dream dance, such as is shown in [plate 47], fig. 1. While this is sacred, it is not performed in secret, and the white people are often invited to come and witness these dances. They do come from many miles away to see the Indian dances and games. At the Lac du Flambeau Reservation, they perform several kinds of dances, such as the corn dance, the warrior dance, the prisoner dance, the deer hunt dance, and many others.

One dance in particular was brought back from Oklahoma by Anawabi. It is called the “Squaw Dance.” In it men and women dance together, as shown in figure 20 of the Museum’s Yearbook for 1923. Anawabi, the medicine man, was credited with powers of witchcraft as well as healing. A young Ojibwe boy sick with pneumonia, told his parents in a delirium that Anawabi had come and was taking his breath away. His parents believed him, and he eventually died, but before he did, some friend hastened to Anawabi and Anawabi stood not on the order of his going, but left at once for Oklahoma where he stayed two years. He probably witnessed the modern two step among the Oklahoma Indians, which they called the “Squaw Dance.” It is distinctly opposed to the Indian way of dancing. It has always been the custom for women to remain in the background at any of the old time dances, dancing by themselves, outside and back of the circle or group of the men. For them to take an equal part in a dance seems out of place. This caused a rift in the tribe, and the older residents at the old Flambeau village will have nothing to do with such dances.

The participants in the dream dance usually dress in all of their native finery and nowadays wear many ornaments that are not of Ojibwe origin. While under the spell of the singing and drumming, the dancers assume a smiling face and are usually oblivious to the presence of any spectators.

The Ojibwe use two types of drums. One is the large dream-dance drum, about two feet in diameter and fourteen inches deep. The other is a tambourine-shaped drum of rawhide only a couple of inches thick and possibly ten inches in diameter, suspended by a loop of sinew, decorated with human figures, and beaten with the hands or a smaller bone drum stick. This drum is used in games and the songs differ considerably for the various games. La Crosse, the woman’s shinny game, the bowl and dice game, the moccasin game and others are all announced by preliminary songs from the chief, who accompanies himself on the game drum.

In writing this bulletin, the system adopted in previous bulletins will be followed. Plants not found to be of use are included in this list, as other investigators may find that they were used. The listing of each plant will be by family and English names, followed by the Latin binomial according to Gray’s Manual of Botany, then the Ojibwe name and its literal translation, if that be known. Following this will be the uses, methods of use, supposed properties, its value as an official or eclectic drug by the whites, and any known myth connected with it. The same procedure will be followed in the other subheadings under investigation, viz.: foods, fibers, dyes, and plants of miscellaneous uses such as utility, good luck charms, love potions and so on.

OJIBWE MEDICINES

The Ojibwe are probably the best informed and the strictest observers of the medicine lodge ceremonies in the country. Their knowledge of plants both in their own environment and far away is probably the best of any group of Indians. While their flora is not so rich in species as that of Indians farther south, they make trips far away from their home to obtain necessary plants.

As among the white people, one plant may bear several common names, according to different individuals in different sections of the country, and again, one name may be given to several plants, as in the case of plants used as “revivers”. Yet, there is an agreement in names of Lac du Flambeau and Leech Lake Ojibwe, that well checks information received. The name is usually descriptive, just as their names for animals usually are either descriptive or representative of the cry or note uttered by the animal, like “ko-ko-ko-o”, the hoot owl, or “ka-ka-ka”, the raven or crow. The medicine name usually tells what the plant looks like, where it may be found, some peculiar taste or property, or its chief use. Often a termination is added signifying the plural of a noun or the part of the plant used, such as the wood, the leaf, the flower, the root, or the berry or fruit.

It is worth noting that they understand the proper time to gather the plant part. At times, the medicinal qualities are inert, undeveloped or dispersed by being too old. Much of the knowledge of white men originated from studying the Indian plant uses, in the early days. Eclectic practitioners sought the Indian herbs and observed carefully what parts of the plant were used. This mass of early information was sifted scientifically by the students of medicine, and finally tested physiologically on animals. Perhaps sixty-five per cent of their remedies were found to be potent and are included in our pharmacopoeas; the other thirty-five per cent were discovered to be valueless medicinally. All of the references to uses of the plants by white men were obtained from the 1916 edition of the National Standard Dispensatory, by Hare, Caspari & Rusby.

The medicine man depended largely upon his reputation and often cured fancied diseases by shamanistic suggestions. His peculiar incantations to the patient to inspire confidence and induce the patient to think he was getting well, often worked, as it works in the case of quack doctors and credulous white men. The young man who had the proper dream following the period of fasting in his youth, predicting his predilection towards the medicine man’s profession, was taken through a rigorous course of training. Individual knowledge was handed down through the family. Instruction to boys and girls usually comes from the uncle or aunt, and if they have no natural uncle or aunt, then one is assigned to them. This is considered the closest relationship among Wisconsin Indians, and when one is adopted into the tribe and given a medicine bag, it will be through the sponsorship of an uncle for his nephew. Among the Ojibwe, both at Lac du Flambeau and at Lac Court Oreilles, the writer is known as Shagashkandawe “Flying Squirrel,” which they say was the name of a famous old chief and medicine man.

The Ojibwe still use the songs essential to digging medicine roots. Jack Doud, the old scout captain of the Civil War, of the old Flambeau village, told the writer that Winabojo, their deity, had received the seeds of all plants from Dzhe Manido, the creator of the universe, and that Winabojo had given them to Nokomis, grandmother, the Earth, to keep in her bosom, for the use of the Indians. Jack Doud also said that Winabojo took some of the native foods from his own body. He said that Winabojo pulled out a little pinch of flesh and threw it on the ground telling it to grow there as mandamin or corn for the Indians. Another pinch yielded squash, another beans and so on until Winabojo had very little flesh left on his body. In other words, the Indians did not know the sources of their cultivated crops, and had invented this tradition to attempt to explain their presence.

As with other Algonkians, the Ojibwe place tobacco in the cavity from which they dig the root, as an offering to Grandmother Earth, to Winabojo, and to Dzhe Manido, praying in song to these deities to make their chosen medicine potent. The medicine man or woman is usually distinguished by two long braids of hair over either shoulder. They are usually shrewd diagnosticians, and depend upon their senses for discovering the ailment. They feel the pulse rate, look at the pupils of the eyes, at the condition of the tongue, at the complexion variation, feel the body temperature and inquire where the pain is felt. From these symptoms they diagnose the disease. Usually they want time to dream over the case, and drink a draught of their own dream-inducing medicine before going to sleep. In a vision or dream, they are directed to the proper medicine to use, and concoct it the following day. External afflictions are treated with lotions or poultices, while internal troubles are almost invariably treated with a medicinal tea. The ingredients are steeped in lukewarm water, and copious draughts are prescribed several times a day. The writer has taken such draughts of various medicines and finds them not unpleasant to the taste. Bitter and nauseous ingredients are usually disguised by “seasoners” which they add to make them taste good. The time alloted for a cure is usually four days, their sacred number, and unless there is marked improvement in the patient at the end of that period, the medicine man will change the treatment.

Some of the medicine men have “tattooing outfits”, which are not really tattooing outfits as we understand the term, but rather blood-letting instruments. Sharp fish teeth are mounted at the end of a four or five-inch stick, and with a quick stroke on the upper side of the elbow or near the collar bone the blood is caused to gush out. The patient holds the arm out tensely while lying down and when the artery is tapped the blood spurts out rapidly. A tourniquet is applied to the upper arm when the medicine man thinks enough blood has flowed and the medicine man then sucks out the residue. The wound is then bandaged and the tourniquet removed. It is the thought of the medicine man that it is necessary to let out a certain amount of bad blood, so that the remaining blood in the patient’s body can be more easily purified by his heart and his breathing.

The Ojibwe also believe that the medicine man can make bad medicine as well as good, and can prescribe certain medicines from his medicine bundle that will enable him to get the better of his enemies. They had many hunting charms which were supposed to help them get game. The hunter in using these would often trace the outline of the desired game upon the ground drawing a line to its heart. He would then pierce the heart with the line and put the proper medicine on the heart puncture indicated. A similar procedure might be followed against human enemies. Such practices were always kept a deep secret, becoming valueless should anyone see the perpetrator making the figure. They were likewise deprecated and resented by the tribe and punishment was apt to follow anyone caught in such a practice, which all agreed was a perversion of the grand medicine society teachings. Most of the remedies of the medicine men were kept tied in little bits of cloth, compounded and ready to steep for use. Combinations of nine to twelve herbs are common. These have been ground with a mortar and pestle until it would be difficult to identify the ingredients of the prepared medicines. Even if one knew all of the ingredients, the amounts of each herb would be difficult to ascertain. Often, as in the case of Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus), the amount must be very limited since the medicinal effect is so severe.

The medicine men are taught that their medicines have a great value and will not be efficacious if disposed of cheaply. Since money is not so plentiful they are quite willing to accept pay in valuable goods. This may be a pony, so many blankets, so much wild rice or whatever the patient has of value. The patient usually calls the medicine man for ailments that have not responded to his own individual treatment. When the patient pays what the medicine man thinks is proper, then he may be told what was used to effect the cure, and how and when to gather the ingredients and how to administer the remedy. The recipient is admonished to see that he does not impart the knowledge unless he is well paid for it, as he paid the medicine man. This explains the difficulty one encounters when he tries to get medicinal information. Only by completely securing the confidence of the Indians, can a white man get this information without pay, and then it must be thoroughly understood that the investigator is not copying their medicines to take commercial advantage of this knowledge. The Indian is quick to appreciate favors and to acknowledge the respect that is given to him by the white man, and becomes quite confident when he realizes that his confidence is not abused.

OJIBWE MEDICINAL MATERIALS

While the Ojibwe use a few remedies outside the plant kingdom, they are not of such great importance as among some other tribes. These are here considered first, the plants following under the proper families alphabetically.

OTHER THAN PLANTS

REPTILES

Rattlesnake, “jicigwe”. The flesh of the rattlesnake commonly known as the massasauga rattler, is sometimes used in combination with other medicines, for its lubricant effect, similar to Russian mineral oil. The Plains Indians and those farther south in the United States consider rattlesnake meat quite efficient in making childbirth easier.

FISH

Sturgeon, “namê”. Fine teeth of the sturgeon were said to be used to make the “tattooing” tool employed by the medicine man in blood-letting. Large fish bladders, “pîkwadj”, were sometimes used as syringes; a hollow duck bone bound with sinew in the end of it, being used for anal applications.

MINERALS

White Clay, “wabaˈbîgan”. White clay was sometimes mixed with medicinal powders to make them into pellets or pills, and the clay was supposed to be a medicine, too, but for what purpose we were unable to discover. Red Clay “osaˈman” was also used in fabricating poultices and was supposed to help draw out the inflammation.

MAMMALS

Bear, “mûkwo”. Bear’s fat was used in several compounds. Melted alone and swallowed it became a drastic physic. Buds of the Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera) and the Large-toothed Poplar (Populus grandidentata) stewed in bear fat, yielded an aromatic salve that was used in curing ear-ache, soothing boils, and healing wounds and ulcers.

OJIBWE MEDICINAL PLANTS

ACERACEAE (MAPLE FAMILY)

Box Elder (Acer negundo L.), “adjagobiˈmûk”, shown in [plate 68], fig. 2. The Pillager Band of Ojibwe reported that the inner bark of the box-elder is steeped to make an emetic. There is no record of its use by the whites.

Red Maple (Acer rubrum L.) “cicigîmeˈwîc”, shown in [plate 65], fig. 1. The Flambeau Ojibwe boil the bark of the red maple to obtain a tea with which to wash and cure sore eyes. There is no record of its use by the whites.

Mountain Maple (Acer spicatum Lam.) “cacagobiˈmûk” [emetic bark]. The Pillager Ojibwe extract the pith of the twig and pinch off small particles which are put into the eye like flax seed to remove foreign matter. It becomes sticky and holds foreign matter which can then be removed with the pith. The pith is also soaked in water to make a lotion for treating sore eyes. Among the whites, Mountain Maple bark is often gathered and sold for Cramp Bark (Viburnum opulus L. var. americanum [Mill.] Ait.) In fact, it has often been wholly substituted for it, and seems about as effective as a uterine sedative and preventative of abortion.

ALISMACEAE (WATER-PLANTAIN FAMILY)

Arum-leaved Arrowhead (Sagittaria arifolia Nutt.) “wabasiˈ pîn” [white potato].[92] Upon short lateral rootlets, amongst the mass of fibrous roots of the arrowhead, firm corms develop, pinkish-white and bulb-shaped, but solid and composed of a sweetish, starchy texture. These are the choice Indian potatoes. These corms break away from the root mass very easily so that the utmost care is necessary in digging to get them in situ. Muskrats are very fond of them, as are beavers, and sometimes store up large covered caches, which the Indian recognizes and appropriates. They will also dig for them, if they cannot be more easily obtained. While they are chiefly prized for food, they are also taken to be a remedy for indigestion among the Pillager Ojibwe.

ANACARDIACEAE (SUMAC FAMILY)

Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra L.) “bakwaˈ nak” [binding tree]. According to Jack Doud and other Flambeau Ojibwe all parts of the Smooth Sumac are suitable for medicine, the root bark, trunk bark, twig bark, leaves, flowers and fruit. The root bark tea is used as a hemostatic. Trunk and twig innerbark are used in combination with other medicine for their astringent qualities. Blossoms are sometimes steeped for sore eyes, leaves are used in poultices, and the fruit is considered a throat cleanser as well as being the basis of a beverage. Eclectic practitioners, or the old time herbalists, used the berries of Rhus glabra because of the malic acid in the skin, claiming it to be a good gargle in acute throat inflammation.

Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina L.) “bakwanaˈ tîg” [binding tree].[93] The Staghorn Sumac was absent from the Flambeau Ojibwe territory, but plentiful around Leech Lake, Minnesota, while the Smooth Sumac was not found near Leech Lake. The Pillager Ojibwe only used the root as a medicine to stop a hemorrhage. They suggested that they had heard of it being used in medicinal combinations but did not know how to make or use them.

Poison Ivy (Rhus toxicodendron L.) “anîmîkiˈbûg” [cloud], shown in [plate 68], fig. 1. Mukwean (Bearskin), Flambeau medicine man, called this a poison to the skin and said that the Ojibwe have no distinctive name for it. John Peper, one of the Bear Island Pillager Indians, gave us the Indian name and said that no one now alive there knew how to use it. Since Kepeosatok, Meskwaki medicine man, at Tama, Iowa, used it in a certain manner for poulticing some kinds of swellings, the writer thinks this may be the use to which John Peper referred.

APOCYNACEAE (DOGBANE FAMILY)

Spreading Dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium L.) “wesaˈ wûckwûn” [nearly blue flowers] or “magosîñeˈ cnakwûk” [needle-like].[94] Bearskin, Flambeau medicine man, said that the stalk and root of this plant are steeped to make a tea for women to drink. It keeps the kidneys free during pregnancy. Other Flambeau Ojibwe agreed with the use but cited the second name as more correct for it. Under the Ojibwe name of “mîdewîdjiˈbîk” [medicine lodge root], the Pillager Ojibwe declared it to be one of the sacred roots that is eaten during the medicine lodge ceremony. They use it also for throat trouble. When one has a coated tongue and is afflicted with headache, the root is also used. In the case of headache, the root is placed upon live coals and the incense is inhaled.

AQUIFOLIACEAE (HOLLY FAMILY)

Winterberry (Ilex verticillata [L.] Gray), “aweˈnîsibûg” [wintergreen leaf], and “anîmûˈcîmînûn” [dog berry]. The bark of this native holly is medicine among the Flambeau Ojibwe, but the use could not be discovered, other than that it might be used for diarrhea. Winterberry has been employed by eclectic practitioners as a tonic and astringent. It has been substituted for quinine in the treatment of periodical fevers, and also used in the treatment of diarrhea. The eclectic practitioner has also used it in treating malignant ulcers and chronic skin eruptions.

Mountain Holly (Nemopanthus mucronata [L.] Trel.), “mîckimînûˈ nîmîc” [red berry tree], shown in [plate 65], fig. 2. This bush is very common around the reservation of the Flambeau Ojibwe and the berries are used as medicine, but the writer was unable to discover for what disease or how used. There is no record of its use among the whites.

ARACEAE (ARUM FAMILY)

Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus L.) “naˈ bûgûck” [something flat]. The root of Sweet Flag is a quick acting physic, supposed to act in half a day. Bearskin cautioned the writer that no more than one and a half inches was to be used, as more would make one ill, and even this much is quite harsh. The Pillager Ojibwe recognize the Sweet Flag under the name “weˈke”, which is the same word used by another tribe for the Yellow Water-lily, and by another for the Blue Flag. John Peper said that the root was used for curing a cold in the throat or for curing a cramp in the stomach. In earlier days, among the whites, slices were candied to create a more popular form of medication. It was formerly used among the white men as a tonic for dyspepsia and for correcting flatulent colic. It was also supposed to be beneficial as a mild stimulant in typhoid cases.

Indian Turnip (Arisaema triphyllum [L.] Schott.), “cacaˈ gomîn.”[95] The root of Indian Turnip was said by John Peper, Bear Island Ojibwe, to be used in treating sore eyes, but he did not know how to use it. One wonders if the calcium oxalate crystals so firefull to the mouth lining were equally so to the delicate membranes of the eye.

Small doses of the partially dried root have been used by the white man in the treatment of chronic bronchitis, asthma, flatulent colic and rheumatism, certainly widely different maladies. The juice of the fresh corm in lard has been used by the white man as a local application to cure ringworm.

ARALIACEAE (GINSENG FAMILY)

Wild Sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis L.) “bebamabiˈ k” [root runs far through the ground]. The Flambeau Ojibwe recognize the root of this plant as a strong medicine, but do not steep it to make tea. The fresh root is pounded and applied as a poultice to bring a boil to a head or to cure a carbuncle. Among the Pillager Ojibwe, the writer found two names applied to this, one of which he thinks to be a case of mistaken identification by the informant. “O kadak” [wild carrot] is more likely to refer to Aralia racemosa though no specimens were found there. They used it under this name as a special squaw remedy for blood purification during pregnancy. The root was pounded in a mortar, then boiled in hot water. Under their name “waboˈ s ûskwe” [rabbit] the root was prepared the same way and the tea was used to cure a cough.

Among the white men, this root has the same properties and uses as the Indian Spikenard (Aralia racemosa); namely, stimulant, diaphoretic, and alterative.

Ginseng (Panax quinquefolium L.) “jîssêˈns.” Evidently the word they used was an attempt to pronounce the white man’s term for it. The writer was unable to discover any medical use made of it by the Ojibwe, though they gathered it assiduously for sale to the traders. Their method of gathering was a thoughtful one. Although they undoubtedly recognized it in any stage of growth, they only gathered the root when the red berries were mature, but before they were ready to drop. Into the hole from whence the root came, they would thrust the whole fruiting top, and carefully firm the soil upon it. Knowing the location well, they would revisit the place in three to five years and find more roots than they harvested in the first instance.

According to our pharmacopoeia, the medicinal value of ginseng is almost nothing, but there is a great market for it in China, where it is worshipped as a sort of fetish, and is acclaimed as a panacea for sexual impotency, nervousness, vomiting and dyspepsia. The more nearly the root approximates the human torso, the more valuable it is to the Chinese. Thus one root in a six hundred-pound bale may be worth many times the entire remainder of the bale, and when ten dollars a pound is the price, one can realize the extreme value of such a piece.

ARISTOLOCHIACEAE (BIRTHWORT FAMILY)

Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense L. var. acuminatum Ashe.) “nameˈ pîn” [sturgeon potato].[96] The Pillager Ojibwe called this a potato for sick people. They are supposed to chew the root, and then they can eat anything they desire.

The white man calls this Canada Snakeroot in his dispensatories, considering it a feeble remedy with tonic, aromatic and diuretic properties. Cases of convalescent acute febrile infections are sometimes given the extract of wild ginger root.

ASCLEPIADACEAE (MILKWEED FAMILY)

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.) “caboˈ sîkûn” [milk] or “înîniˈwûnj” [Indian plant], according to Flambeau Ojibwe.[97] Although the Pillager Ojibwe used this chiefly for food, the root was also used as a female remedy, but for what phase of illness, we were not able to discover. Eclectic practitioners have used the roots as counter-irritants or internally as stomachics, carminatives, or anti-spasmodics of the stimulating class.

BALSAMINACEAE (TOUCH-ME-NOT FAMILY)

Spotted Touch-me-not (Impatiens biflora Walt.) “wesaˈ wûs gaˈskonêk” [yellow light]. Bearskin, Flambeau medicine man said that the fresh juice of this plant rubbed on the head would cure a headache. The leaves are steeped for a medicinal tea, but the ailment was undiscovered.

The herbage of this plant, under the name Wild Celadine, has been largely employed by homoeopathic physicians and eclectics. The chemical constituents are not known though the leaves apparently contain tannin. The medicinal value is questionable, though fresh applications of the juice appear to relieve skin irritations of various kinds, especially that of Poison Ivy.

BERBERIDACEAE (BARBERRY FAMILY)

Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides [L.] Michx). “ociˈ gîmîc”.[98] The Pillager Ojibwe use the root for female troubles especially for cramps in the stomach during painful menstruation. The fine roots are also boiled to make a tea for emetic purposes. White people seldom use it. Eclectics have used it in the treatment of hysteria and uterine diseases. They have claimed that it will prevent abortion, by causing uterine contraction when uterine inertia is present.

BETULACEAE (BIRCH FAMILY)

Speckled Alder (Alnus incana [L.] Moench.) “wadoˈ bîn” [root to sew a canoe]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root for its hemostatic qualities. When one passes blood in his stools, the root tea will act as an astringent and coagulant.

The white man has also used alder bark for its mild astringent properties. The eclectic practitioner in the United States and Canada employed it in a powdered condition for dusting upon chafed body surfaces.

Paper Birch (Betula alba [L.] var. papyrifera [Marsh.] Spach.) “wîgwas”. From “wîgwas” comes the word “wigwam” or house, because birch bark was used in covering the house, furnishing a waterproof roof. The root of the Paper Birch was used in medicines as a seasoner. Its sweetish, aromatic, wintergreen flavor disguised less pleasant doses. The root bark and maple sugar cooked together made a soothing syrup to alleviate cramps in the stomach. The white man has employed only the leaves medicinally as a diuretic.

Low Birch (Betula pumila L. var. glandulifera Regel.) “bîneˈ mîcins” [partridge tips]. Among the Pillager Ojibwe, the Low Birch is a valued source of medicine. Although it is plentiful around the Flambeau Reservation, none of them seemed to consider it medicine, although their name agreed, “bîneˈ mîc”, without the diminutive. The Pillager Ojibwe use the tiny cones upon a plate of coals as an incense to cure catarrh. No doubt the resinous covering of the twigs and cones in this variety causes the aromatic incense. Also a tea made from the cones is drunk by women in their menses. Such tea is also accounted strengthening when the patient is enfeebled by childbirth. The leaves probably possess diuretic properties as do other species of Betula. No record of its use by white men has been discovered.

Hazelnut (Corylus americana Walt.) “mûkwobagaˈ nak” [bear nut].[99] Bearskin said that the bark of the hazelnut bush is medicine. It is boiled and used as a poultice on cuts to close and heal them. No record of its medical use by white men has been discovered.

Beaked Hazelnut (Corylus rostrata Ait.), “bagaˈn” or “bagaˈnak” [nut] Flambeau names, and “bagaˈnamijic” [nut tree], Pillager name. Bearskin assigned the same properties and uses to the bark of the Beaked Hazelnut as to the Hazelnut. The Pillager Ojibwe used only the hairs of the hazelnut husk as a medicine to expel worms. Eclectic practitioners have used it in the same manner as an anthelmintic, depending probably on the irritant effect of the tiny stickers.

BORAGINACEAE (BORAGE FAMILY)

Hound’s Tongue (Cynoglossum boreale Fernald), “masaˈn”. Three terms are used to denote the action of such plants as this, which are burned upon live coals that the patient may inhale the fumes. They are: “abaˈ bûson”,—to revive or “head standing by smoke”; “sasaˈ bîkwat”,—to snuff it; and “nokweˈ sîkûn”,—“smell as it comes”. They are used interchangeably in designating the use of the plant. Hound’s Tongue is specifically fumed to cure a headache.

Among the whites, Hound’s Tongue has been recommended as a sedative and demulcent in the treatment of bronchial and pulmonary affections. It is said to be of value also in dysentery. The fresh leaves are used locally as a remedy for superficial burns and abraded surfaces.

CAMPANULACEAE (BELLFLOWER FAMILY)

Marsh Bellflower (Campanula aparinoides Pursh.) Although plentiful around the Lac du Flambeau region, our informants said that this is not used.

Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia L.) “adotaˈgons” [little bell]. The Pillager Ojibwe use the root of the Harebell combined with three other unnamed roots for lung troubles. There is no record of its use by whites.

CAPRIFOLIACEAE (HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY)

Bush Honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera Mill.), “osawaˈ skanet” [yellow fluid]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root together with other plants such as the Ground Pine, for their most valued urinary remedy. It is also known among white men as a diuretic and a remedy to relieve itching.

Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa L.), “papaskatcîksiˈganaˈtîg” [popgun wood]. According to the Pillager Ojibwe, this bark is an emetic or a purgative, depending upon how it is prepared for use. It is a last resort purgative to be used when other remedies for the same complaint are of no avail. It may be said that the Ojibwe have more plants for physic than for any other purpose, thus the Red Elder will be seen to be their most important one.

Four internodes of the stalk are taken, because four is their magic number. These sections are measured carefully from the point of the ulna to the point of the humerus. The inner bark is secured by peeling downward. This is steeped and boiled, and the resulting liquid is drunk for constipation. It is supposed to thus save the life of one threatened with serious constipation. It is reserved for extreme cases, because of the many other physics they employ, and they consider it drastic and dangerous otherwise. If these same four sticks had been peeled upwards and the resulting tea drunk, then it would have acted as a powerful emetic. The writer can testify to its strength, but notes that it works both ways at once, no matter how prepared, so that the method of preparation is doubtless superstitious.

Among the whites only the elder flowers are recognized in the New Formulary, but the inner bark has been known to produce death in children, a short time after being eaten, with symptoms similar to Poison Hemlock (Cicuta). In moderate doses, it is also known to produce vomiting and purging. The active alkaloid evidently works only in the fresh state, as it loses its potency in a dried state.

Snowberry (Symphoricarpos racemosus Michx.) “anîgomijiˈ mînagaˈwûnj” [little crow bush]. Among the Pillager Ojibwe, the root of the Snowberry is used to make a tea to clear up the afterbirth, and enable quicker convalescence. Among the Meskwaki Indians the same use is ascribed to the Wolfberry (Symphoricarpos occidentalis). There is no record of its use by white men.

Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago L.), “atîteˈ tamînûn” or “atîteˈ tamînagaˈwûnj.”[100] The Pillager Ojibwe collect the inner bark of the trunk, down low next to the ground, to yield a tea which is used as a diuretic.

Among the white men, Nannyberry is often sold as Viburnum prunifolium which is official in our pharmacopoeia. The virtues assigned to this class of medicine are as feeble as they are numerous. It has been used as a nervine, astringent, tonic, diuretic and has been said to have value as an uterine sedative and preventive of abortion.

Highbush Cranberry (Viburnum opulus L. var. americanum [Mill.] Ait.) “aˈnibîmîˈnûgaˈwûck” [anib means elm, berries, bush].[101] The Pillager Ojibwe used the inner bark as a physic, and also drank the tea to cure cramps in the stomach.

Among the white men, Viburnum opulus is considered to be the same as Viburnum prunifolium, only less potent. It is recommended as an antispasmodic in asthma, hysteria, puerperal convulsions, and dysmenorrhea.

CARYOPHYLLACEAE (PINK FAMILY)

White Campion (Lychnis alba Mill.) “basiˈ bûgûk” [small leaf]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root of this for a tea to physic a patient. There is no record of its use by white men.

CELASTRACEAE (STAFF TREE FAMILY)

Climbing Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens L.) “manîdobimaˈ kwît” [spirit-twisted]. The Pillager Ojibwe use the red berries of this plant for stomach trouble.

The white man uses the berries for decorative purposes, and has used the bark for emetic, diaphoretic and antisyphilitic purposes.

COMPOSITAE (COMPOSITE FAMILY)

The composite family is represented by many species in northern Wisconsin and also in northern Minnesota. There are probably three times as many plants in this family as in any other, hence it furnishes numerous medicines.

Woolly Yarrow (Achillea lanulosa Nutt.), “waˈ bîgwûn” [white-flower]. The Flambeau Ojibwe, under the name given, use the leaves of this plant as a poultice to cure the bite of a spider. The dried flowering heads are smoked in mixture with other things, much as kinnikinnik, not for pleasure, but more for ceremonial purposes.

It has not been distinguished by the eclectic practitioner from the Common Yarrow, which was used for its bitter and aromatic principles. It was used as an emmenagogue and for various ailments of the reproductive organs. It was sometimes used to cure diseased conditions of the entire gastro-intestinal tract.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.), “adjidamoˈ anûk” [squirrel tail].[102] The Pillager Ojibwe used the florets in ceremonial smoking and placed them on a bed of coals inhaling the smoke to break a fever.

Yarrow has always been a home remedy of the white man, and the Germans still use the dried flowers in a tea, called “schafesgarbetee”, to break a fever. Other uses are the same as above.

Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea [L.] B. & H.), “basiˈ bagûk” [small leaf]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the flowers of this plant, calling attention to the fact that it smells like acorns, reducing them to a powder which is sprinkled on live coals as a “nokweˈ sîgûn” or perfume. This is inhaled by a party who has had a stroke of paralysis and is said to revive him.

The Pearly Everlasting has never been properly analyzed by white men, but the flowers have been locally used by them as soothing expectorants and are known to have more or less marked stomachic properties.

Lesser Cat’s-Foot (Antennaria neodioica Greene) “gagîgeˈ bûg” [everlasting leaf]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the whole herb as a valued remedy to make a tea to be given to the mother after child birth. It is to purge the afterbirth and heal them internally.

Eclectic practitioners have used this plant as a hemostatic.

Common Burdock (Arctium minus Bernh.), “giˈ masan” [big stickers]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root of burdock as one of the ingredients of a medicine for pain in the stomach. It is also supposed to have a tonic effect.

Burdock root has quite a reputation among home practitioners among the white men as a diaphoretic, diuretic, alterative, aperient and depurative. It has been used for rheumatism, gout, pulmonary catarrh, chronic skin diseases such as scrofula and syphilis, and to dissolve urinary deposits. Externally it has been used as a salve or wash for eruptions, burns, wounds, hemorrhoids and swelling.

White Sage (Artemisia ludoviciana Nutt.) “îmbjîˈgoa” according to White Cloud, Bear Island Ojibwe, but “wîngûskw” or “bebejiˈgogaˈnji” [horse medicine] by John Peper, another Bear Islander. Peper said the Pillager Ojibwe used it as a horse medicine, but the Sioux smoked it.

Miners and frontiersmen prized it in their treatment of “mountain fevers.”

Large-leaved Aster (Aster macrophyllus L.), “naskosiˈ îcûs”. The Flambeau Ojibwe consider this a feeble remedy but also good as a charm in hunting. Young roots were used to make a tea to bathe the head for headache. The informant giving this latter use called it “megîsiˈ bûg” [eagle leaf]. There is no record of its use by the whites.

Ox-eye Daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum L.). The Flambeau Ojibwe had no name for this, as they said it was from the south, and they do not use it.

Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense [L.] Scop.) “masaˈ nûck” [prickly]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the plant for a bowel tonic. Canada Thistle is one of the worst American weeds, and white men have used the dried plant for a diuretic and tonic.

Common Thistle (Cirsium lanceolatum [L.] Hill), “jiˈ masaˈnûck”. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root of this for alleviating stomach cramps in both men and women. The dried plant has been used by the whites as a diuretic and tonic.

Philadelphia Fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus L.) “mîcaoˈgacan” [odor of deer hoof]. The Pillager Ojibwe use the flowers to make a tea to break fevers. The smoke of the dried flowers is inhaled to cure a cold in the head. The disk flowers, pulverized, were snuffed up the nostrils to cause the patient to sneeze and thus loosen a cold in the head. The whites have used the Canada Fleabane as a remedy in the pharmacopoeia, and also have used the Philadelphia Fleabane locally, but for different purposes. It is diuretic rather than astringent.

Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron ramosus [Walt.] BSP). The Flambeau Ojibwe do not assign this plant a special name but class it as a “nokweˈ sîgûn” or perfume for curing sick headache. Several species of Erigeron have been substituted by white men for the Canada Fleabane, which is used as a diaphoretic and expectorant.

Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum L.), “bûˈ gîsowe” [bathing]. The Flambeau Ojibwe make a strong solution of the root, with which to wash a papoose up till the time he is six years old. This is supposed to strengthen him.

Joe-Pye is officinal but not official among white men. Official designates that it is authorized by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia while officinal means that it is regularly kept for sale in drug stores. Officinal remedies are much used by eclectic practitioners. The root has the odor of old hay and is diuretic, stimulant, astringent and tonic. It has been used in chronic urinary disorders, gout, rheumatism, and hematuria.

Tall Blue Lettuce (Lactuca spicata [Lam.] Hitchc.), “dadocaˈbo” [milk]. The Flambeau Ojibwe employ the plant to make a tea given to women with caked breasts to render lactation easier. A dog whisker hair is used to pierce the teat. Among white men Lactuca was formerly employed as a soporific and sedative.

White Lettuce (Prenanthus alba L.), “wecaˈ wûs waˈ ckwînêsk” [yellow light]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the milk of the White Lettuce as a diuretic, especially in female diseases. The root is also used as a female remedy.

White men have used the root decoction internally for dysentery. Old time herb doctors gave the milk of the plant internally, and used the leaves, steeped in hot water, as a poultice for the bite of a snake.

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta L.). The Flambeau Ojibwe claim that this plant is adventive from the south and have no name or use for it. It has been used by the white men as a diuretic.

Golden Ragwort (Senecio aureus L.).

Entire-leaved Groundsel (Senecio integerrimus Nutt.) Both of these plants are considered adventive by the Pillager Ojibwe and neither was named nor used.

Under the name squaw weed, white men have exploited the Golden Ragwort as a female regulator, claiming diuretic, pectoral, diaphoretic and tonic properties. It is also said to be useful in treating gravel and other urinary affections.

Indian Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum L.), “asasaˈ weskûk” [square stem]. According to John White Feather, of the Flambeau Ojibwe, this root was carried from Iowa and transplanted on the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe Reservation. They all accept it as great medicine. A tea is made from the root for lumbago and some other kinds of rheumatic pains in the back. John Peper, Pillager Ojibwe, gave it the same Indian name and said that an old Indian had brought it to Bear Island from Iowa a hundred years ago, and had planted it in his field, whence it escaped to the south end of the island. He said they use it for stomach trouble, and hemorrhage. White men have used the Indian Cup Plant root for its tonic, diaphoretic and alterative properties. It has also been used in intermittent fevers, ulcers, liver affections and debility. The resinous gum collected from the stem has been used by the whites as a stimulant and antispasmodic.

Fragrant Golden-rod (Solidago graminifolia [L.] Salisb.), “wasaˈ waskwûneˈk” [yellow light]. Besides being of use in hunting medicine, the flowers in infusion were used by the Flambeau Ojibwe for a pain in the chest.

Golden-rod leaves and flowers have at times held a rather important place in materia medica, for their carminative, and antispasmodic properties. They have also been used as an intestinal astringent.

Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.) “muckikiˈwît” [medicine]. The Flambeau Ojibwe have no distinctive name for this plant, claiming it came from the south and they were told it was good for fevers.

Among white men, it is deemed tonic, emmenagogue and diaphoretic. It has been used in a cold infusion in convalescence from exhausting diseases, dyspepsia, hysteria and jaundice.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale Weber) “wesaˈusakwûnek” [yellow light].[103] While the Flambeau Ojibwe do not use this plant, the Pillager Ojibwe give it a name and use the root for a tea for heartburn. It was found growing at the north end of Bear Island in Leech Lake, Minnesota.

Among the whites, the virtues of the root are much overrated. The dried root is steeped in boiling water and is used as a stomachic and tonic, with slight diuretic and aperient action.

Cocklebur (Xanthium commune Britton), “sakatiˈkomûk” [stickers]. Although giving it a name, the Flambeau Ojibwe did not use it. It has been used by white men in intermittent fevers, also as a diuretic, diaphoretic and sialagogue.

CORNACEAE (DOGWOOD FAMILY)

Alternate-leaved Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia L. f.) “mosoˈmîc” [moose tree].[104] The Pillager Ojibwe use the inner bark for an emetic. Although other species of Cornus are officinal with white men, there is no record of the use of this species.

Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis L.) “odeˈ imînîdjiˈ bîk” [strawberry root, or heart-berry root]. The Bunchberry or Dwarf Cornel somewhat resembles the Wild Strawberry. The Flambeau Ojibwe make a tea from the root, which is used to cure babies of colic. There is no record of its medicinal use by the whites, though it has been eaten by them.

Panicled Dogwood (Cornus paniculata L’Her.), “meskwabiˈ mîc” [red bush]. It is peculiar that the Flambeau Ojibwe would call this a red bush, for the branches are distinctly gray. Only the fruit stalks or pedicels are bright red. The bark is used as a tea for flux. An aggregate of this bark compressed into a stopper shape is forced into the anus as a treatment for piles. There is no record of its use by the whites.

CRUCIFERAE (MUSTARD FAMILY)

Tower Mustard (Arabis glabra [L.] Bernh.), “misodjidamoˈ anûk” [black squirrel tail]. Although the Pillager Ojibwe have a name for this plant, they say it is from the south, and they do not use it. There is no record of its use by white men.

Marsh Cress (Radicula palustris [L.] var. hispida [Desv.] Robinson), “wabîgwûn” [yellow flower]. The Flambeau Ojibwe name for Marsh Cress is not very distinctive although it does have yellowish flowers. They have no use for the plant as it came in from the south, according to them. Neither have white men.

Tansy-mustard (Sisymbrium canescens Nutt.) The Pillager Ojibwe do not know this plant, which they consider to be adventive from the south and do not use it. Aside from the fact that the seeds have a volatile oil similar to mustard seed, the whites do not use it.

CUCURBITACEAE (GOURD FAMILY)

Squash (Cucurbita maxima Duchesne.) “ogwîssiˈmaun oˈwasokwûneˈk” [threads like hair; yellow light]. The Flambeau Ojibwe used the seed tea as a diuretic. There is no distinctive medicinal use of squash among the whites.

Wild Balsam-apple (Echinocystis lobata [Michx.] T. & G.) “nîgîtîniˈ gûnûk” or “mîtcigiˈ mênûk” [man in the ground], shown in [plate 69], fig. 1. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root tea as a bitter medicine for stomach troubles and as a tonic. The root is certainly bitter enough. On the west coast, the root has been employed by white men as a simple bitter.

CYPERACEAE (SEDGE FAMILY)

Hare’s Tail (Eriophorum callitrix Cham.) “bîweeˈ ckînûk” [fuzz of fruit]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the matted fuzz as a hemostatic. Under the name “mesadiˈ wackons” [little catkins from popple], the Pillager Ojibwe refer to it, but none of them knew any use for it. There has been a limited use of its tannic properties as an astringent by white men.

EQUISETACEAE (HORSETAIL FAMILY)

Field Horsetail (Equisetum arvense L.) “gîjiˈ bînûsk,” [duck round].[105] The Pillager Ojibwe use the whole plant to make a tea to cure the dropsy. The plant has been used indefinitely chiefly in domestic practice by the whites.

Wood Horsetail (Equisetum sylvaticum L.), “sibaˈ mûckûn”. The Pillager Ojibwe use the whole plant to make a tea to cure kidney trouble and dropsy. It has not been much used by the whites, except as a domestic remedy for gravel.

ERICACEAE (HEATH FAMILY)

Bog Rosemary (Andromeda glaucophylla Link.), “bîneˈ mîkci” [swamp partridge berry]. The plant was found on the Flambeau Ojibwe Reservation, but was not used medicinally. Among the whites, it is credited with poisonous properties.

Prince’s Pine (Chimaphila umbellata [L.] Nutt.), “gaˈ gîgeˈbûg” [everlasting leaf].[106] The Flambeau Ojibwe pronounce the name of Prince’s Pine nearly the same as the Menomini Indians, and use it for the same purposes, namely a tea for treating stomach troubles. Chimaphila is official with white men as a tonic and diuretic. It stimulates the mucous membrane of the genito-urinary tract, and has been used in renal dropsy, scrofulous conditions, chronic ulcers and skin lesions. It is employed both internally and as an embrocation.

Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens L.), “wînîsiˈ bûgûd”, [dirty leaves], shown in [plate 75], fig. 2. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the leaves to brew a tea to cure rheumatism and “to make one feel good.” The white man discovered the properties of this plant from the Indians, and originally wintergreen was the chief source of methyl salicylate. Aspirin is synthetically the same thing. Birch twigs were later used as a source and finally it was made from coal tar dye. Like other volatile oils, methyl salicylate was used as an antiseptic, analgesic, carminative and flavoring agent. It was added to liniments for rubbing muscular rheumatism, and similar complaints. Overdoses of the pure oil on the skin produce drowsiness, congestion and delirium.

Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccus L.) “mûckiˈ mînagaˈ wûnj” [swamp berry bush]. A tea for a person who is slightly ill with nausea. White men have used the bitter, astringent leaves in diarrhea and diabetes and for purifying the blood.

Blueberry (Vaccinium pennsylvanicum Lam.), “minûgaˈ wûnj” [berry bush]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the leaves of this common blueberry for a medicinal tea as a blood purifier. White men have employed it in the same manner.

EUPHORBIACEAE (SPURGE FAMILY)

Flowering Spurge (Euphorbia corollata L.), “cabosîˈ kûn” [milky bitter root]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root for a physic. A half inch of the root is pounded and steeped in a cup of water, which is drunk before eating. The resinous, milky juice of the root has been employed by eclectic practitioners as an emetic, but its use has been practically abandoned because of its irritant and uncertain qualities.

FAGACEAE (BEECH FAMILY)

Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa Michx.), “mîtîgoˈ mîc” [wooden tree], shown in [plate 64], fig. 1. The bark is an astringent medicine to the Pillager Ojibwe. They also use it to bandage a broken foot or leg. All oaks are noted among the whites for their astringent properties. Eclectic practitioners used it for gargles in cases of inflammation of the tonsils and pharynx. It was also used in treating leucorrhea and piles.

Red Oak (Quercus rubra L.), “mîtîgoˈ mîc”, [wooden tree], shown in [plate 64], fig. 2. The bark,—“mîtîgoˈ mîc wenaˈ gêk”. The bark is a medicine for heart troubles and bronchial affections among the Flambeau Ojibwe. Its use by white men was approximately the same as Bur Oak.

FUMARIACEAE (FUMITORY FAMILY)

Golden Corydalis (Corydalis aurea Willd.), “tîpotîeˈ kwason,” [looks like pants]. The Pillager Ojibwe place the root on coals and inhale the smoke for clearing the head and reviving the patient. There is no record of its use by white men.

FUNGI

The Ojibwe have evidently had disastrous experiences with mushrooms in the past and do not use them as a food. The children often gather the common brackets (Fomes applanatus) and draw pictures on them, using them as toys.

Giant Puffball (Calvatia craniiformis Schw.) shown in [plate 61], fig. 2, “oskweˈtûk”. This is kept on hand in the mature stage. The inner part has an organized mass of threads and does not break down entirely into spores as do the smaller puffballs. The substance is snuffed up the nose to stop nose bleed.

The Ojibwe also made use of an unidentified fungus matte material, found in the windshake spaces of down timber. This is the matted vegetating mycelium of some timber fungus, such as Fomes, Trametes, Polyporus or Pholiota. This made a good tinder for use in the fire base block, and when the fire stick was rapidly twirled against this material, it caught fire and was blown into a blaze that became the basis of their fire. In all medicine lodge ceremonials, the fire was kindled in this manner and thus deemed a sacred fire. Things cooked over this fire were ceremonial, and the calumet or pipe used in the ceremonies was always lighted from a coal of the sacred fire.

GERANIACEAE (GERANIUM FAMILY)

Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum L.), “oˈ sawaskwîniˈ s” [yellow light].[107] The Pillager Ojibwe use the astringent root for the treatment of flux, and also for healing a sore mouth. Eclectic practitioners have also used it as a mild internal astringent, useful for infants and people who have a delicate stomach, because it is not irritating. It is valuable in serious diarrheas. It has also been used by white men for rectal and vaginal injections to tone up weak muscles.

GRAMINEAE (GRASS FAMILY)

Rattlesnake Grass (Glyceria canadensis [Michx.] Trin.), “anagoneˈ wûck” [fern]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the roots of this as a female remedy, but it is difficult to understand why they call it a fern. There is no record of its use by white men.

HYDROPHYLLACEAE (WATERLEAF FAMILY)

Virginia Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum L.),[108] “neˈ bîneankweˈ ûk” according to the Pillager Ojibwe White Cloud on Bear Island, Leech Lake, Minnesota, but “anîmûcîdeˈ bîgons” [dog feet medicine], according to John Peper, of the same island. It furnishes a root that may be used to keep flux in check. He states that it is good for man, woman or child. It was used for the same purpose among the Meskwaki Indians, but there is no record of its use by whites.

IRIDACEAE (IRIS FAMILY)

Blue Flag (Iris versicolor L.), “naˈ bûkûck”.[109] The Flambeau Ojibwe use a half inch of the root boiled in water as a quick physic. Under the name “caboˈsîkûn” [milk root], the Pillager Ojibwe use a little piece of the root in boiling water, drinking a tablespoonful and a half as an emetic and physic.

Blue Flag root has been accounted one of the most valuable remedies by the eclectic practitioner. It is alterative, cathartic, sialagogue, vermifuge and diuretic. It has been used in scrofula and syphilis, chronic hepatic, renal and splenitic affections.

LABIATAE (MINT FAMILY)

Wild Mint (Mentha arvensis L. var. canadensis [L.] Briquet), “nameˈ wûckons” [little sturgeon plant].[110] Among the Flambeau Ojibwe a tea is brewed from the entire plant, to be taken as a blood remedy. It is also used by them in the sweat bath, “akûskati”. John Peper, Pillager Ojibwe, made an especial trip to find this on the lake shore but calls it “andegoˈ bîgons” [little crow leaf] and says that they use it as a tea to break fevers. This species of mint was rarely used by white men for carminative, stimulant and anodyne affects.

Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa L.), “wecaˈ wûs wackwîˈ nek” [yellow light].[111] The Flambeau Ojibwe gather and dry the whole plant, boiling it in a vessel to obtain the volatile oil to inhale to cure catarrh and bronchial affections. In some sections, the whites use it as a domestic antiperiodic and diaphoretic.

Catnip (Nepeta cataria L.) “tciˈ nameˈ wûck” [big sturgeon plant].[112] The Flambeau Ojibwe brew a tea of catnip leaves for a blood purifier. The mint water obtained by steeping the herb in lukewarm water is used to bathe a patient, to raise the body temperature. The plant is employed by the whites as an emmenagogue and antispasmodic. It has been used as a carminative to allay flatulent colic in infants, and is supposed to be useful in allaying hysteria.

Heal-all (Prunella vulgaris L.), “basiˈ bûgûk” [partridge leaf]. The root is used by the Flambeau Ojibwe in combination with others for a female remedy. It has been used by eclectic practitioners as a pungent and bitter tonic and antispasmodic. It has vermifuge properties and is slightly diuretic. It has also been used for obstructions of the liver, cramps and fits.

Marsh Skullcap (Scutellaria galericulata L.), “tcatcabonûˈ ksîk” [refers to the way the stem comes up through the leaves]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use this for medicine, having something to do with heart trouble, but we could get no definite information upon it. There is no record of its use by white men, although a similar species, S. lateriflora has been used as a nervine, tonic and antispasmodic in chorea, convulsions, fits, delirium tremens and all nervous affections.

LEGUMINOSAE (PULSE FAMILY)

Creamy Vetchling (Lathyrus ochroleucus Hook.) “bûgwaˈ dj ûk pîniˈ k mîneˈ bûg” [unusual potato, berry, leaf]. John Peper, Pillager Ojibwe, said that the foliage was fed to a pony to make him lively for a race. The Flambeau Ojibwe call it “basiˈ bûgûk” [partridge leaf], in common with several other plants, and say that the Creamy Vetch is used for stomach trouble. By the white men, it is considered one of the loco weeds, bad for horses.

Marsh Vetchling (Lathyrus palustris L.), “bebejîgogaˈnji mackiˈ ki” [horse medicine]. The Pillager Ojibwe feed this to a pony that is sick and claim it will make him fat. There is no record of its use as medicine by white men.

White Sweet Clover (Melilotus alba Desr.). The Flambeau Ojibwe claim that this plant is adventive and so they do not use it. There is no record of its use as medicine by white men.

LICHENS

Reindeer Moss (Cladonia rangiferina [L.] Hoffm.) “asaˈ gûniñkˈ” [moss].

The Ojibwe boil this moss and use the water to wash a new born baby. They declare it is the same as if you were putting salt into the water. So far as is known, it has never been utilized as a medicine by the white man.

LILIACEAE (LILY FAMILY)

Northern Clintonia (Clintonia borealis [Ait.] Raf.), “gînoseˈ wibûg” [muskellunge leaf].[113] The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root tea as a remedy to help parturition. John Peper, Pillager Ojibwe called it “adotaˈgons” [little bell] and said that the dogs use it to poison their teeth so that they can kill their prey. Should they bite a person, then it would be necessary to procure the same root and put it on the bite to draw out the poison. This curious superstition was also encountered in another tribe,—the Menomini. There is no record of its medicinal use by white men.

Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense Desf.), “agoñgosiˈ mînûn” [chipmunk berries], shown in [plate 71], fig. 1. The Flambeau Ojibwe recognize that this is somewhat different from Spikenard (Smilacina racemosa), but give it the same name and uses, namely to keep the kidneys open during pregnancy, to cure sore throat and headaches. It is also used to make smoke for inhaling. The Pillager Ojibwe do not know or use it.

Small Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum [Walt.] Ell.) “nanîbîteˈodeˈkîn”, [grows in a row], shown in [plate 72], fig. 2. The Pillager Ojibwe use the root as a physic and it is also cooked to yield a tea to treat a cough. White men have used it as a substitute for Convallaria for the same purposes, namely the treatment of dropsy.

False Spikenard (Smilacina racemosa [L.] Desf.), “agoñgoˈ sîmînûn” [chipmunk berries], shown in [plate 71], fig. 2. The Flambeau Ojibwe use this root in combination with Spreading Dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium) to keep the kidneys open during pregnancy, to cure sore throat and headache. It is also used as a reviver, “abaˈbûsûn”. Convallarin is the important constituent of Spikenard and it is classed the same as Solomon’s Seal and Canada Mayflower.

Star-flowered Solomon’s Seal (Smilacina stellata [L.] Desf.) The Pillager Ojibwe have no name nor use for this root.

Carrion-flower (Smilax herbacea L.), “gîneˈ bîgomînagaˈwûnj” [snake berry bush], shown in [plate 73], fig. 2. The root of this plant was used in lung troubles according to the Pillager Ojibwe. It has been used by eclectic practitioners as an alterative.

Twisted Stalk (Streptopus roseus Michx.), “nanibîteˈ odeˈ kîn”, [grows in a row], shown in [plate 72], fig. 1. This plant is called by the same name as Polygonatum biflorum among the Pillager Ojibwe, but this particular one is always referred to as the squaw, while Polygonatum has always been called the man. It is used for a physic or to make tea for a cough. There is no record of its medicinal use by white men.

Large Flowered Bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora Sm.), “wesawabiˈ kwonêk” [yellow light][114], the name applied to the plant, but the root is called “wabûckadjiˈ bîk” [white root]. The Pillager Ojibwe use the root for stomach trouble. The trouble is described as a pain in the solar plexus, which may mean pleurisy. It has been used by eclectic practitioners for erysipelas, ulcerated mouth, etc.

LYCOPODIACEAE (CLUB MOSS FAMILY)

Ground Pine (Lycopodium complanatum L.), “gîjiˈk gandoˈ gûng” [cedar-like]. The dried leaves are used by the Flambeau Ojibwe as a “nokweˈsîkûn” or reviver. Lycopodium spores are used by the white man as a surgical dusting powder.

Ground Pine (Lycopodium obscurum L. var. dendroideum [Michx.] D. C. Eaton) “cigonaˈ gan” [evergreen], shown in [plate 61], fig. 1. The Flambeau Ojibwe use this plant in combination with Bush Honeysuckle roots (Diervilla lonicera) as a diuretic. The spores are the only part used by the white man for medicine. They are an antiseptic dusting powder.

MENISPERMACEAE (MOONSEED FAMILY)

Canada Moonseed (Menispermum canadense L.), “bîmaˈ kwît waˈ bîgons” [twisted pod or stick]. White Cloud, Pillager Ojibwe of Bear Island, did not know the use of this root, but assured the writer that other Ojibwe knew it and used it. Moonseed root is used by eclectic practitioners as a tonic and alterative, and has been employed as a substitute for Sarsaparilla.

MYRICACEAE (BAYBERRY FAMILY)

Sweet Fern (Myrica asplenifolia L.), “gibaimeˈ nûnaˈgwûs” [coverer]. Sweet fern is called “a coverer,” because it is used to line the blueberry pails and cover the berries to keep them from spoiling. The word is almost the same as that used by the Menomini and means the same. The Flambeau Ojibwe consider the leaves too strong for a beverage tea, but make a medicinal tea to cure the flux and cramps in the stomach. The white man uses Sweet Fern as a stimulant and astringent; sometimes using it to relieve colic and check diarrhea. It has also been used in a fomentation to relieve rheumatic pains.