Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians 12

Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians 12

Goldthread= (_Coptis trifolia_ [L.] Salisb.), “wesa waˈ nikweˈak”

[yellow?] and “wesa wadjiˈbîkweˈak” [yellow root], shown in plate 75,

fig. 1. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the decoction of the root to soothe and

heal the baby’s gums while it is teething. It is also used as a mouth

wash for adults when their mouths are sore. This use has been adopted

by white men, who also use it in dyspepsia and chronic inflammation of

the stomach.

 

=Bristly Crowfoot= (_Ranunculus pennsylvanicus_ L. f.), “manweˈ gons”.

The seeds are a hunting medicine with the Flambeau Ojibwe. Several of

the _Ranunculaceae_ have been used as counter-irritants by the white

men.

 

=Cursed Crowfoot= (_Ranunculus sceleratus_ L.). The Pillager Ojibwe do

not know this plant, and have no name for it. Eclectic practitioners

have used it as a counter-irritant.

 

=Purple Meadow Rue= (_Thalictrum dasycarpum_ Fisch. & Lall.), shown in

plate 73, fig. 1. The Pillager Ojibwe have no Indian name for this, but

use the root to make a tea to reduce fever. The properties of this root

are considered almost identical with _Berberis_, which is used by white

men as a tonic, stimulant and antiperiodic.

 

 

ROSACEAE (ROSE FAMILY)

 

=Agrimony= (_Agrimonia gryposepala_ Wallr.), “sagaˈ tîgans” [seeds

stick], shown in plate 77, fig. 1. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root

with other ingredients as a medicine for urinary troubles. It is not

much valued now by white men, although it has been used for its bitter

astringent properties.

 

=Smooth Juneberry= (_Amelanchier laevis_ Wiegand),

“gozigaˈgominagaˈwûnj” [thorny wood][119] according to John

Whitefeather, Flambeau Ojibwe, and “bîsegaˈgomînagaˈwûnj” according to

Charley Burns, another Flambeau Ojibwe who said that the bark was used

for medicine, but he did not know what it was to treat. The Pillager

Ojibwe call it “gozigaˈgomînûk” and say that the bark is to make a tea

for the expectant mother. There is no record of its medicinal use by

white men.

 

=Hawthorn= (_Crataegus_ sp.), “mînesagaˈ wûnj” [berries and thorn

bush], shown in plate 77, fig. 2. The Flambeau Ojibwe use both the

fruit and the bark for medicine, a kind not made now, other than

for women. Eclectic practitioners have used the berries for their

astringent and reputed cardiac properties.

 

=Wild Strawberry= (_Fragaria virginiana_ Duchesne), “odeˈ imînîdjiˈ

bîk,” [heart berry root].[120] The root of the common Wild Strawberry

is used to make a tea good for the stomach-ache, and especially for

babies. The white man uses the herb as an astringent and tonic for

convalescents and especially for children having bowel and bladder

weakness.

 

=Large-leaved Avens= (_Geum macrophyllum_ Willd.), “wicaˈwasaˈ konek”

[yellow light]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use this for a female remedy.

Eclectic practitioners consider the root tonic and astringent.

 

=Rough Cinquefoil= (_Potentilla monspeliensis_ L.), “tcodeˈ imînagaˈ

wûnj” [like a strawberry]. This plant seemed to be known to all the

Pillager Ojibwe, even the eight-year-old girls, as a physic. There is

no record of its use as a medicine by white men.

 

=Marsh Five-finger= (_Potentilla palustris_ [L.] Scop.), “bebaˈ

akwûndek” [floats about]. This was dug from the water by John

Whitefeather’s wife, Flambeau Ojibwe, who said it was a cure for

cramps in the stomach, and is used alone as one medicine. Under the

Pillager Ojibwe name of “mûckiˈ godjiˈbîk” [swamp root], John Peper

said that it was medicine with them, but he did not know how to use it.

There is no record of its use as medicine by white men.

 

=Pin Cherry= (_Prunus pennsylvanica_ L. f.), “baeˈwimînûn”. The inner

bark is a valued remedy for coughs. Most of the species of cherry have

been used by white men for the bitter principle contained, which suits

it for use as a stomachic and bitter tonic in gastric atony and general

debility. The syrup of wild cherry has been used as a pleasant vehicle

for other drugs.

 

=Wild Cherry= (_Prunus serotina_ Ehrh.) “okweˈ mîn” [worm out of

a fly’s egg; refers to the little worms in a cherry when it is

ripe].[121] The Flambeau Ojibwe value the bark of this species to make

a tea as a remedy for coughs and colds. It is used the same as Pin

Cherry by white men.

 

=Choke Cherry= (_Prunus virginiana_ L.), “aˈ sasaweˈ mînagaˈ

wûnj.”[122] The Pillager Ojibwe make a tea for lung trouble from the

inner bark. This is the official bark in the pharmacopoeia, which

is used as a stomachic and bitter tonic useful in gastric atony and

general debility. Wild cherry syrup is used to mask other unpleasant

drugs.

 

=Smooth Rose= (_Rosa blanda_ Ait.), “ogîneˈ mînagaˈ ons” [rose

berries].[123] The Pillager Ojibwe use the skin of the fruit or “rose

hip” for stomach trouble. The Flambeau Ojibwe call it “ogîni” or

“ogîniˈ gawûnj” [rose berries]. They dry and powder the flowers for use

in relieving heartburn. The skin of the rose hips is a medicine for

indigestion. Rose hips are described by white men as refrigerant and

astringent, but are only used in medicine to prepare the confection of

hips. Roses are used almost wholly today to impart their pleasant odor

to pharmaceutical preparations.

 

=High Bush Blackberry= (_Rubus allegheniensis_ Porter), “oˈdatagaˈ

gomîc” [its name].[124] The Flambeau Ojibwe boil the canes to obtain

a tea that is used as a diuretic. The roots furnish a tea for

arresting flux. Blackberry and Dewberry root are official in the U.

S. Pharmacopoeia because of their tonic and astringent properties.

They are favorite household remedies among white men in the treatment

of summer diarrhea of children and adults. Blackberry cordial is often

used for the same purpose.

 

=Red Raspberry= (_Rubus idaeus_ L. _aculeatissimus_ [C. A. Mey] Regel

& Tiling) “meskwaˈ mînagaˈ wûnj” [red bush berry]. The Flambeau Ojibwe

value the berries as a seasoner for their medicines. That is, the

flavor is used to disguise less pleasant ingredients. The root bark

makes a tea for healing sore eyes. Under the name Rubi Idei Fructus, N.

F. white men use the berries for making an agreeable syrup as a vehicle

for less pleasant tasting medicines. When the Red Raspberry is not

readily available the Black Cap Raspberry is used in the same manner.

 

=Meadow-sweet= (_Spiraea salicifolia_ L.), “wabûckîkiˈ bug” [rabbit

leaf]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root as a trapping medicine. There

is no record of its use by the white man.

 

=Steeple Bush= (_Spiraea tomentosa_ L.), “memîsgwûˈnagûg” [squaws’

drink]. The Flambeau Ojibwe make a tea from the leaves and flowers of

the Steeple Bush to drink for the sickness of pregnancy and to act as

an easy parturient. The whites have used the root and the leaves as an

astringent and tonic, in diarrhea, hemorrhages, gonorrhea, ulcers, etc.

 

 

RUBIACEAE (MADDER FAMILY)

 

=Goose Grass= (_Galium aparine_ L.), “sakateˈ bwi” [stickers]. The

whole plant is used by the Pillager Ojibwe to make a tea used for a

diuretic, in kidney trouble, gravel, stoppage of urine, and allied

ailments. Other species are used in much the same way and for the same

purposes. White men have recognized it as a valuable refrigerant and

diuretic, and have found it useful in diseases of the urinary organs.

It is not recommended for diseases of a passive character, on account

of its refrigerant and sedative effects, but is used freely in fevers

and all acute diseases.

 

=Small Cleaver= (_Galium tinctorium_ L.), “waboskîkiˈ mînûn” [rabbit

swamp berries]. The Flambeau Ojibwe make a medicinal tea from the

whole plant, for its beneficial effect upon the respiratory organs.

Eclectic practitioners have used it for its nervine, antispasmodic,

expectorant and diaphoretic properties. It has been successfully used

in asthma, cough, and chronic bronchitis. The plant has a pungent,

aromatic, pleasant, persistent taste.

 

=Small Bedstraw= (_Galium trifidum_ L.), “ojîbweˈ oweˈ cûwûn”, [ojibwe

male genitalia]. The Pillager Ojibwe make a medicinal tea of this

species for skin diseases such as eczema, ringworm and scrofula. White

men undoubtedly use it in much the same way as the preceding species

through error in identifying it correctly.

 

 

RUTACEAE (RUE FAMILY)

 

=Prickly Ash= (_Zanthoxylum americanum_ Mill.), “gawaˈ kumîc”,[125]

[its name]. Both Flambeau and Pillager Ojibwe make trips further south

to get this bark, since none of the trees grow near them. They want it

for treating quinsy and sore throat. They say that even the berries are

good for a hot tea to treat sore throat, and also to use as a spray on

the chest to cool and relieve congestion in bronchitis. Among the white

men, it is considered a stimulant, tonic, alterative and sialagogue

and is used for chronic rheumatism, colic, syphilis, and hepatic

derangements.

 

 

SALICACEAE (WILLOW FAMILY)

 

=Balsam Poplar= (_Populus balsamifera_ L.), “manasaˈ di” [perfume

poplar]. The Pillager Ojibwe cook the buds of the Balsam Poplar in lard

or bear fat, and use the cold product for a salve on cuts, wounds or

bruises. They also rub it on the inside of the nostrils, so that the

balsamic odors can course through the respiratory passages and open

them in case of congestion from cold, catarrh or bronchitis. Poplar

buds are also official with white men who use them as a stimulating

expectorant, and in the form of an ointment in treating sluggish ulcers

and sores. Eclectic practitioners have used tinctures of the buds

for stomach and kidney treatment and in scurvy and rheumatism, and

sometimes, apply it to the chest. The bark is used by white men for a

tonic and cathartic, of service in gout and rheumatism.

 

=Large-toothed Aspen= (_Populus grandidentata_ Michx.), “asadi”

[bitter bark]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the young roots of this tree in

a tea as a hemostatic. There is no record of its use by the whites.

 

=Quaking Aspen= (_Populus tremuloides_ Michx.), “asadi” [poplar]. The

Flambeau Ojibwe give this tree the same name as the Large-toothed

Aspen. They use the bark of a young trunk for poulticing cuts and

wounds. The astringent salacin in the inner bark undoubtedly draws

the cuts together and causes healing. The Pillager Ojibwe distinguish

the tree with a slightly different name, “asadins”, the diminutive

of “asadi”, meaning “little poplar”. They use the inner bark for

poulticing a sore arm or leg, and make the inner layer of their splints

of the inner bark so that a broken limb may heal healthily. Eclectic

practitioners use both bark and leaves in treating acute rheumatism,

also to lower the temperature in fevers, to relieve pain and reduce

arterial swellings, colds, hay fever, influenza, neuralgia and

diabetes. Externally the whites have used it as a wash for gangrenous wounds, eczema, cancer, burns, and body odor.