Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians 13
Crack Willow= (_Salix fragilis_ L.), “sizigoˈ bimîc” [willow name].
This tree has escaped from cultivation around the water-courses of
the Flambeau Reservation and has been accepted by the Ojibwe there as
efficacious along with the native willows. The bark is astringent from
its salacin content and is used as a styptic and poultice for sores.
Willow bark was formerly employed by physicians among the whites as a
stomachic and antiperiodic in the treatment of intermittents, but is
rarely used today.
=Shining Willow= (_Salix lucida_ Muhl.), “zigoˈ bamîc”. The Pillager
Ojibwe use the bark of this species as an external remedy for sores.
The Ojibwe do not generally distinguish any particular willow with any
other name, but Whitefeather, Flambeau Ojibwe, called this species
“mûckigoˈ bamîc” [swamp tree] and said it was used on a cut to stop the
bleeding, and that the bark was also a poultice material for sores.
Other Flambeau Ojibwe called it “sizigoˈ bamîc”, but it was generally
noticed that in that latitude the Shining Willow was invariably found
in swamps, and not along streams, so there is justification for
Whitefeather’s name. Among the whites, this bark was used formerly as a
stomachic and antiperiodic.
=Bog Willow= (_Salix pedicellaris_ Pursh.), “sizigoˈ bamîc”. This is
a species of the cold bogs and meadows found far up toward the Arctic
Circle. While the Pillager Ojibwe did not give it a distinctive name,
they said it was not used for bark to smoke, but for bark to treat
stomach trouble. There is no record of its use by whites.
SARRACENIACEAE (PITCHER-PLANT FAMILY)
=Pitcher-plant= (_Sarracenia purpurea_ L.), “oˈ makakiˈ wîdass” [frog’s
leggins], as shown in plate 67, fig. 1. Bearskin, Flambeau Ojibwe
medicine man had a slight variant in pronouncing this—“oˈ makakiˈ
odass”. He said that the root is used to make a tea to help a woman
accomplish parturition. Eclectic practitioners used the whole plant to
make a tea for a tonic, stimulant, diuretic and laxative.
SAXIFRAGACEAE (SAXIFRAGE FAMILY)
=Wild Red Currant= (_Ribes triste_ Pall.), “mîciˈ tcimînûk.” The
Flambeau Ojibwe use the leaves as some sort of a female remedy. There
is no record of its use by the whites.
SCROPHULARIACEAE (FIGWORT FAMILY)
=Butter and Eggs= (_Linaria vulgaris_ Hill.), “owacawaˈ skwûneg”
[yellow light]. The whole plant is dried by the Flambeau Ojibwe and
used in the kettle with other foliage and twigs as a bronchial inhalant
in the sweat lodge. The Ojibwe name for medicine to be inhaled is
“nokweˈsîkûn” which sounds much like the Menomini Indian name for the
same thing,—“naˈ sîkon”. The eclectic practitioners claimed that the
plant is diuretic, and cathartic, using it in dropsy, jaundice, and
cutaneous eruptions. The fresh plant was sometimes used as a poultice
for hemorrhoidal tumors, and an ointment was made of the fresh flowers
for the same purpose and to use locally in diseases of the skin. In
Germany, the flowers were used for a yellow dye.
=Cow Wheat= (_Melampyrum lineare_ Lam.), “agoñgasiˈ mînûk” [chipmunk
berries]. The Flambeau Ojibwe say that this plant is made into a tea,
which is a “little medicine for the eyes”. There is no record of its
medicinal use by the whites.
=Wood Betony= (_Pedicularis canadensis_ L.), “mandamîˈ nîodjiˈ bîkîns”
[little corn root]. According to John Peper, Pillager Ojibwe, this root
was a bad kind of medicine, an aphrodisiac, when cut fine and placed
in some dish of food without the knowledge of those who were going to
eat it. There is no record of its medicinal use by the whites.
=Mullein= (_Verbascum thapsus_ L.). The Flambeau Ojibwe have no name
for this since it has come into their territory from the south and
they do not use it. The writer has gathered this for his grandmother
who smoked the leaves for relieving asthma and bronchitis. The flowers
are supposed to have diuretic properties and have been used in the
treatment of tuberculosis.
THYMELEACEAE (MEZEREUM FAMILY)
=Moosewood= (_Dirca palustris_ L.), “djibeˈ gûb” [djibe means a dead
person, or ghost or spirit]. The bark of Moosewood is very soft, strong
and elastic, so that twigs can be tied into knots. The Pillager Ojibwe
say that all their people use it as a tea for a diuretic. The bark
is sometimes substituted for Mezereum bark, which is official in the
U. S. pharmacopoeia. It is usually used in a compound decoction with
sarsaparilla for chronic skin diseases, and syphilitic, rheumatic and
scrofulous conditions. As an external ointment, it was used for a
stimulant to foul or ill-conditioned ulcers.
TYPHACEAE (CAT-TAIL FAMILY)
=Cat-tail= (_Typha latifolia_ L.), “bebamasûˈn” [it flies around]. The
Flambeau Ojibwe used the fuzz of the fruit for a war medicine. They
claim that the fuzz thrown into an enemy’s face will blind him.
UMBELLIFERAE (PARSLEY FAMILY)
=Musquash Root= (_Cicuta maculata_ L.), “apagwasîˈgons”. The Pillager
Ojibwe say that this root is used a little in their medicine, but did
not know just how. It was smoked in hunting.
=Cow Parsnip= (_Heracleum lanatum_ Michx.) “piˈ pîgweˈ wanûck” [flute
stem].[126] The Pillager Ojibwe pound the fresh root and apply it
as a poultice to cure sores. The fresh leaves and root are known to
produce vesication or blisters by the whites, and therefore have been
used by them as counter-irritants. The root has been used by eclectic
practitioners to cure epilepsy. In infusions, it is thought to cure
dyspeptic disorders.
=Sweet Cicely= (_Osmorhiza longistylis_ [Torr.] D. C.), “osagaˈ tîkûm”
[interlaced twigs]. The same name was applied by the Pillager Ojibwe
to _O. claytoni_, and evidently they did not distinguish between the
two species. A tea for making parturition easier is prepared from the
roots. The liquorice flavor of the tea is said to be good for a sore
throat.
=Wild Parsnip= (_Pastinaca sativa_ L.), “pigweˈwûnûsk” [flute stem].
The Pillager Ojibwe are quite cautious in using this poisonous root.
They claim that a little bit is very powerful, while much is poisonous.
They use a very minute quantity mixed with four other kinds of roots
to make a medicinal tea for female troubles. There is no record of its
medicinal use by the whites.
=Black Snakeroot= (_Sanicula marilandica_ L.), “masan” [from the
woods]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root pounded as a poultice to cure
rattlesnake bite or any snake bite. Bearskin, chief Flambeau medicine
man said that if this root be chewed, it would cause eruptions on
the epithelial lining of the mouth. They consider it a very potent
remedy. The Pillager Ojibwe call it “gîneˈbîg odjiˈ bîk” [snake root]
and make a root tea that is used to cure fevers of various kinds.
Eclectic practitioners have accredited it with active aromatic, bitter
principles. They have used it in intermittent fevers, sore throat,
erysipelas and cutaneous affections. It has been also used for St.
Vitus dance and other nervous affections.
URTICACEAE (NETTLE FAMILY)
=Hop= (_Humulus lupulus_ L.), “jiwîˈcgoniˈbûg”. The Pillager Ojibwe use
the common hop to make a tea which acts like saleratus on the system,
increasing the excresence of urine and reducing its acidity. It is
official in the U. S. pharmacopoeia as a tonic, diuretic, sedative and
somewhat anaphrodisiac.
=Wood Nettle= (_Laportea canadensis_ [L.] Gaud.), “masaˈnatîk” [forest
wood]. The Pillager Ojibwe use the root to make a medicinal tea for
its diuretic properties. It is said to cure various urinary ailments.
Eclectic practitioners have considered it tonic, astringent and
diuretic. They use both roots and leaves. The seeds and flowers are
given in wine for the ague.
=Slippery Elm= (_Ulmus fulva_ Michx.), “anib”. The Pillager Ojibwe use
the slippery inner bark for sore throat, especially when the throat is
apt to be dry. Slippery Elm is official in the U. S. pharmacopoeia as a
demulcent, emollient and nutritive. It is considered useful internally
for dysentery, diarrhea and bronchitis. Pounded bark for poultices has
been used for boils and inflammations, and in compounding suppositories.
=Lyall’s Nettle= (_Urtica lyallii_ Wats.), “masan” [woods]. The
Flambeau Ojibwe use only the leaves as medicine. These are soaked in
warm water and used as a poultice for heat rashes. It is something like
fighting fire with fire. Among the whites, nettles are known for their
powerful and peculiar diuretic properties.
VIOLACEAE (VIOLET FAMILY)
=Canada Violet= (_Viola canadensis_ L.) Although a common violet in
the territory of the Pillager Ojibwe, they claimed to have no name or
use for it. It was formerly used by eclectic practitioners as a blood
purifier and as a remedy in chronic affections of the lungs, and in
skin diseases, but is no longer used.
=American Dog Violet= (_Viola conspersa_ Reichenb.), “wewaîeˈ bûgûg”.
The whole plant is used by the Flambeau Ojibwe to make a tea for heart
trouble. The whole plants have been used among the whites as alterative
and expectorant remedies. They were said to be useful in skin diseases,
scrofula, syphilis and bronchitis.
VITACEAE (VINE FAMILY)
=River-bank Grape= (_Vitis vulpina_ L.), “ciˈwî mînûn” or “ciwî mînaga
wûnj”, shown in plate 70, fig. 2. The Pillager Ojibwe used a tea of
boiled twigs for women to drink to clear up afterbirth and enable it
to pass easily. They use the sap as a medicine for stomach and bowel
trouble. Among the whites, the tender branchlets and leaves were
sometimes employed for their agreeable acidulous flavor.
OJIBWE VEGETAL FOODS
The Ojibwe have always lived far from the haunts of civilization. They
were too far in the back country to participate in the colonial and
pre-colonial wars. They have always preferred to live where game is
abundant, and even today they are still able to subsist partly on deer
and fish. The products of the hunt were very important to them, and
they possess a very large number of hunting charms, which are roots,
seeds or blossoms that are used as good luck omens or actual lures in trapping and fishing.
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