Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians 11

Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians 11

PINACEAE (PINE FAMILY)

 

=Balsam Fir= (_Abies balsamea_ [L.] Mill), “jîngoˈ b” [any kind of

fir tree name], shown in plate 62, fig. 1. While the Flambeau Ojibwe

call the tree “jîngoˈ b” as a short term, the full name of the Balsam

Fir according to them is “jîngoˈ b pîkewaˈ ndag”. They claim that the

liquid balsam is used direct from the bark blister upon the eyes, for

sore eyes. The leaves are a reviver or “abaˈ bûsûn” and are also used

in combinations as a wash. The Pillager Ojibwe call it “jîngoˈ bandag”,

and use the balsam gum for colds and to heal sores. This corresponds

to the way the Hudson Bay Indians use the bark. The needle-like leaves

are placed upon live coals and the smoke is inhaled for colds. They are

also used as a part of the medicine for the sweat bath.

 

The sweat bath is taken in a small hemispherical wigwam, like the

regular abode, but entirely covered with mats or nowadays with

canvas. The medicines are coiled into wreaths to fit into large iron

kettles. Water is added and finally hot rocks which cause steam. The

Indian taking the sweat bath may be taking it for ceremonial reasons,

for cleansing, but most likely as a medicated steam bath. He sits

naked within until there is no more steam and his body is entirely

dried again. He then puts on all clean clothes and will not wear

the discarded clothes until they have all been thoroughly washed.

The candidate for degrees in the medicine lodge, must undergo the

sweat bath in a ceremonial way. Usual plants employed to medicate

the steam are White Pine leaves, Hemlock leaves, Arbor Vitae leaves,

Wild Bergamot plant, Balsam needles, Peppermint plants, and the like.

They are undoubtedly very beneficial to the health. Canada balsam is

accounted the same medicinally as turpentine, but its principal value

to the white man today is its perfect transparency and peculiar optical

properties, which fit it for use in mounting microscopic specimens.

 

=Tamarack= (_Larix laricina_ [Du Roi] Koch), “mûckîgwaˈ tîg” [swamp

tree], shown in plate 60, fig. 2. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the dried

leaves as an inhalant and fumigator, “nokweˈsîkûn”. Larch bark has

been highly valued in the past in chronic bronchitis with profuse

expectoration, in chronic inflammation of the urinary passages, and in

phases of hemorrhage.

 

=White Spruce= (_Picea canadensis_ [Mill.] BSP.), “gawaˈ ndag”, shown

in plate 62, fig. 2. The leaves of White Spruce are used in the same

manner as Larch, as a “nokweˈsîkûn”, an inhalant or fumigator. The

needle oil is considered about the same as turpentine, by white men.

 

=Black Spruce= (_Picea mariana_ [Mill.] BSP.), “jingwûp”. If the bark

is meant as a medicinal salt, then its name is “jingwûˈ p gawaˈ ndag”

but if the leaves are the part meant for a reviver, “aba busun”, then

it carries only the name “jingwup”. The needle oil is used by white men

the same as turpentine.

 

=Jack Pine= (_Pinus banksiana_ Lamb.), “gîgaˈ ndag”. The leaves are

used as a reviver,—“nokweˈ sîkûn” according to the Flambeau Ojibwe.

There is no record of its medicinal use by the white men.

 

=Norway Pine= (_Pinus resinosa_ Ait.), “abakwanûg iˈmûg” [bark in

plates], shown in plate 63, fig. 2. The Norway Pine is used in all

particulars by the Flambeau Ojibwe, just as the White Pine.

 

=White Pine= (_Pinus strobus_ L.), “jîngwak kweseskweˈ tûk” according

to Bearskin of the Flambeau Ojibwe, shown in plate 63, fig. 1, “jîngwak

waceskweˈdo” according to Charley Burns of the Flambeau Ojibwe. The

bark medicine is, “jîngwak onaˈ gêk” and is gathered in the same manner

as by the Menomini, with a song to grandmother Earth, and the placing

of tobacco on the ground. The cones, when boiled and likewise the

bark of the young tree trunk yield a pitch which is medicine, called

“jîngwak bûgîo.” The dried leaves are powdered and used as a reviver or

inhalant. There are three names referring to this sort of treatment,

as said before,—“nokweˈ sîkûn”, “sasaˈ bîkwat” and “abaˈ bûsûn”. Of

these three terms, “sasaˈ bîkwat” is the proper one to use when White

Pine needles are employed in this manner. White Pine is a very valuable

remedy with all Ojibwe, but Norway Pine is sometimes substituted for

it. White Pine bark is used in making cough syrup, by white men, but it

possesses only feeble properties as an expectorant.

 

=Arbor Vitae= (_Thuja occidentalis_ L.), “giˈ jîkandag” [sky or cedar

tree].[117] The Flambeau Ojibwe use the leaves as a perfume, “abaˈ

bûsûn” and also as a tea for headache. During ceremonies of the

medicine lodge, it is necessary to purify sacred objects and the hands

and persons of participants. A plate of live coals is used and dried

Arbor Vitae leaves placed upon them. The servitor wafts the incense

over sacred objects by fanning the smoke with his hands. Others hold

their hands over and in the smoke, waving it upon their persons.

 

The Pillager Ojibwe call it by the simple name “giˈ jîk” [sky or

cedar]. They also use it as a purifying incense, and as an ingredient

for the sweat bath with White Pine, Balsam, Hemlock and other plants.

They drink the boiled leaves claiming that the steam goes through the

blood and purifies it. This treatment cures coughs.

 

The U. S. Pharmacopoeia formerly required that leaves for medicinal

use be in a fresh state but the new formulary only requires them

to be recently dried and leafy. Internally it has been used for an

emmenagogue, for fevers, bronchial catarrh, rheumatism and to remove

intestinal worms. Externally it is applied in ointment to treat ulcers,

warts and cancerous growths.

 

=Hemlock= (_Tsuga canadensis_ [L.] Carr.), “gagagiˈ wîc” [raven tree].

The Flambeau Ojibwe medicine man puts the leaves in his medicinal tea

to disguise the taste. The bark is used for healing cuts and wounds,

and for stopping the flow of blood from a wound. The bark is rich in

tannin and naturally quite astringent. White men have used the bark

and its resulting pitch as substitutes for burgundy pitch in making

plasters. These have been used as external remedies for lumbago,

chronic rheumatic pains, chronic bronchitis and pleurisy.

 

 

PLANTAGINACEAE (PLANTAIN FAMILY)

 

=Common Plantain= (_Plantago major_ L.), “cecaˈ gûskiˈ bûge sînk”

[leaves grow up and also lie flat on the ground].[118] The Flambeau

Ojibwe soak the leaves in warm water then bind them on bruises, sprains

or sores as a poultice. It is also a healing and soothing remedy for

burns, scalds, bee stings, and snake bites. The Flambeau Ojibwe also

refer to it as “pakwan”. The Pillager Ojibwe use it in the same manner

but call it “jimûckiˈ gobûg” [sort of swamp leaf]. Although plantain

is a feeble remedy, it has been ascribed potency in many diseases by

eclectic practitioners. They still use it to some extent in treating

inflammation of the skin, malignant ulcers, intermittent fevers, etc.

The leaves are of some value in arresting hemorrhages when applied to

the bleeding surfaces. The writer cured a badly swollen and lacerated

hand, which swelled to three times its normal size, probably because

dirt from a sewer was ground into it, with the simple leaf bound upon

the hand.

 

 

POLYGONACEAE (BUCKWHEAT FAMILY)

 

=Carey’s Persicaria= (_Polygonum careyi_ Olney). The Ojibwe have no

name or use for this, nor have white men.

 

=Swamp Persicaria= (_Polygonum muhlenbergii_ [Meisn.] Wats.), “agoñgoˈ

simînûn” [chipmunk berries]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use this plant for a

tea to cure a pain in the stomach. It is also hunting medicine. Several

of the polygonums have been used by eclectic practitioners for their

astringent properties.

 

=Curled Dock= (_Rumex crispus_ L.) “ciˈobûg” [twisted leaf]. The

Flambeau Ojibwe use the root, which contains considerable tannin, for

closing and healing cuts. White men have used it for its astringent

properties.

 

 

POLYPODIACEAE (FERN FAMILY)

 

=Shield Fern= (_Aspidium cristatum_ [L.] Sw.), “anaˈ ganûck” [fern].

The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root tea for stomach trouble. Among the

white men, this fern has been found to have almost the same value as

Male Fern as a teniafuge. Great care is exercised in the size of the

dose and to see that no part of the drug remains in the system after it

has performed its task of killing intestinal worms, as fatalities have

been known to occur.

 

=Female Fern= (_Asplenium filix-femina_ [L.] Bernh.), “anaˈ ganûck”

[fern]. The Flambeau Ojibwe grate the dry root into a powder which

is used as a healing powder for sores. The Pillager Ojibwe call it

“nokomiˈ skînûn” [grandmother?]. The root is made into a tea to cause

milk flow in patients with caked breast. There is a record of its

medicinal use by white men to alleviate backache.

 

=Sensitive Fern= (_Onoclea sensibilis_ L.), “aˈ nanaˈ ganûck” [fern].

The Pillager Ojibwe powder the dry root, and make a tea to give the

patient whose breasts are caked, to stimulate the flow of milk. There

is no record of its medicinal use by white men.

 

=Brake= (_Pteris aquilina_ L.), “anaˈ ganûck” [general fern name]. This

is the general name of the bracken fern, where used for food. When used

for medicine, it is called by the Flambeau Ojibwe—“makateˈ wa anaˈ

ganûck” [black fern], and the root is made into tea to alleviate cramps

in the stomach. It is only used by the women for this purpose. The

dried leaves are smoked upon live coals to relieve a headache. Under

the name “aˈ nanaganaˈ wûck” the root is used by the Pillager Ojibwe in

the same manner as by the Flambeau Ojibwe. White men have considered

this root to be pectoral, demulcent, purgative and anthelmintic. A

syrup solution is used in pulmonary and hepatic diseases. A strong

decoction is used to expel worms.

 

 

PRIMULACEAE (PRIMROSE FAMILY)

 

So far as is known, none of the Primrose family is used by the Ojibwe

for medicine. The Pillager Ojibwe did not know the Tufted Loosestrife

(_Lysimachia thyrsiflora_ L.).

 

 

RANUNCULACEAE (CROWFOOT FAMILY)

 

=Red Baneberry= (_Actaea rubra_ [Ait.] Willd.), “wîckobidjiˈbîk” [sweet

root], shown in plate 76, fig. 1. The Pillager Ojibwe make a tea from

the root, to be drunk by women after childbirth. It is to clear up the

system. A man also eats the root for stomach troubles. White men use

the root as a substitute for Black Cohosh (_Cimicifuga racemosa_),

which it resembles in appearances and properties. It has been used in

treating ovarian neuralgia, uterine tenderness, subinvolution, and

amenorrhea. It has also been used as a substitute for digitalis in

fatty or irritable heart, but only after other remedies have failed.

Headache due to eyestrain has also been cured by this root.

 

=Canada Anemone= (_Anemone canadensis_ L.), “mîdewidjiˈ bîk” [medicine

lodge root], shown in plate 74, fig. 2. The Pillager Ojibwe eat the

root of this plant to clear the throat so they can sing well in the

medicine lodge ceremony,—a sort of throat lozenge. Most of the

anemones have been substituted for _Pulsatilla_ and used for the

same host of diseases by eclectic practitioners. Included in these

ailments are: cataract, paralysis, rheumatism, melancholia, syphilis,

dysmenorrhea, and many other morbid conditions.

 

=Thimble-weed= (_Anemone cylindrica_ Gray.), “gande gwaˈ soninkeˈ

cînagwûk” [looks like tumble-weed]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root

for making a tea to relieve lung congestion and tuberculosis. Among the

white men it has the same uses as Canada Anemone.

 

=Wild Columbine= (_Aquilegia canadensis_ L.), shown in plate 74, fig.

1. The Pillager Ojibwe have no name for this plant, but the root is

considered a good medicine for stomach trouble. Eclectic practitioners

consider it a diuretic, diaphoretic, and antiscorbutic, using it in jaundice, in smallpox to promote eruption, and in scurvy.