Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians 19
CYPERACEAE (SEDGE FAMILY)
=Wool Grass= (_Scirpus cyperinus_ [L.] Kunth.), “gaîeˈwûckûk”. The
Flambeau Ojibwe use these small rushes for a certain kind of mat, and
formerly used them for woven bags for storage.
=Great Bulrush= (_Scirpus validus_ Vahl.), “jîkaˈmiûskûn”. The Pillager
Ojibwe use this rush for their best mats. The bleached rushes are
shown in plate 51, fig. 1, after they have been immersed in water for
a few days and then cleansed. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the same rush in
the same way. They select long rushes, with small diameters, so that
the pith content is small. When the mat is in service, such a fiber
will not crush readily. The rush when gathered is an intense green,
white only at the base where it stands in water. All rushes must first
be bleached pure white, and afterwards colored as desired. They are
pulled, rather than cut, in order to obtain the maximum length. When
thoroughly bleached and dried, they dye them with white men’s dyes.
Formerly they used native dyes, which they really prefer. The writer
tried for a long time to secure the proper dyes for Whitefeather, but
without success. They had a small quantity of German dye bought in
1914, which was satisfactory, but the six lots sent them were not equal
to the small sample in penetration nor permanence. The bleached rushes
preponderate in any rug, and are ivory-white in color. The finished rug
or mat is three feet wide and from four to eight feet long, and sells
for from $8 to $30.[146] The edge is bound securely with nettle fiber
cord. The Flambeau Ojibwe use a more general term in referring to the
rushes “anaˈganûck” meaning rushes in general.
EQUISETACEAE (HORSETAIL FAMILY)
=Scouring Rush= (_Equisetum hyemale_ L.), “gîjiˈbînûsk” [duck plant].
The Pillager Ojibwe, besides using this for a medicine, employ a
handful of the stems to scour their kettles and pans.
FAGACEAE (BEECH FAMILY)
=White Oak= (_Quercus alba_ L.), “mîtîˈgomîc”. The wood is of much
value to all the Ojibwe, especially for making awls to punch holes in
birch bark as they are sewing it with Jack Pine roots. They use it in
making wigwams and for several other things. In fact, all the oaks are
used and appreciated.
GRAMINEAE (GRASS FAMILY)
=Sweet Grass= (_Anthoxanthum odoratum_ L.), “wîckoˈbimûckoˈsi” [sweet
grass]. While Sweet Grass is scarce around the Flambeau and Pillager
reservations, they secure it elsewhere for making baskets, and say that
in olden times it was used ceremonially because of its persistent sweet
scent.
HYDROPHYLLACEAE (WATERLEAF FAMILY)
=Virginia Waterleaf= (_Hydrophyllum virginianum_ L.),
“nebîneˈnanikweˈîag.” [having hair on only one side]. According to
White Cloud, Pillager Ojibwe, this root was chopped up and put into
pony feed to make them grow fat and have glossy hair.
JUGLANDACEAE (WALNUT FAMILY)
=Shell-bark Hickory= (_Carya ovata_ [Mill.] K. Koch.), “mîtîgwabaˈk”
[wooden?]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the wood for making bows. Some are
quite particular about the piece of wood they select, choosing a billet
from the tree that includes heart wood on one side and sap wood on the
other. The heart wood is the front of the bow in use, while the sap
wood is nearest the user. It is likewise a wood of general utility.
JUNCACEAE (RUSH FAMILY)
=Dudley’s Rush= (_Juncus dudleyi_ Wiegand), “jîgomiˈûskûn”. The
Pillager Ojibwe use this tiny rush in their finest mat work, for small
pieces.
LEGUMINOSAE (PULSE FAMILY)
=Creamy Vetchling= (_Lathyrus ochroleucus_, Hook.), “bûgwaˈdjûk
pîniˈkmîneˈbûg” [unusual potato, berry leaf]. The leaves and roots of
this were used by the Pillager Ojibwe to put spirit into a pony just
before they expected to race him.
=Marsh Vetchling= (_Lathyrus palustris_ L.), “bebejiˈgoganjiˈ mackiˈki”
[horse medicine or literally “animal with only one hoof” medicine]. The
foliage was specially fed to a pony by the Pillager Ojibwe to make it
grow fat.
MYRICACEAE (BAYBERRY FAMILY)
=Sweet Fern= (_Myrica asplenifolia_ L.), “gibaimeˈnûnagwûs” [coverer].
This word is almost the same as the Menomini word for Sweet Fern and
means the same thing. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the leaves to line their
buckets when they pick blueberries and also cover them with the leaves,
to keep them from spoiling.
OLEACEAE (OLIVE FAMILY)
=Black Ash= (_Fraxinus nigra_ Marsh). Black Ash is the wood chosen
for basketry splints by the Ojibwe. While our Wisconsin Indians are
skilled at basket making, their product is more useful than highly
ornamental. If they had the yucca leaves, the devil’s claw fiber, the
sumac twigs, the bunch grass, and the other splendid basketry fibers
of the southwestern Indians, no doubt they would make equally fine
baskets. The Wisconsin Indians exercise possibly more ingenuity in
gathering and preparing their basketry material. They select a Black
Ash log from a swamp and peel it carefully. Then with a butcher knife,
they make a cut about a half inch deep and by pounding with an axe head
cause it to split up from the log, as seen in plate 50, figure 1. By
inserting wedges, and continually pounding ahead of them, they cause
the wood to separate along the annual rings. Then a further cut is
made in the center of the annual ring and the two halves peeled back
leaving a glossy surface. These splints are curled up into coils to be
immersed in kettles of dye stuffs. Then they are woven by the women of
the household as shown in plate 50, figure 2.
=Red Ash= (_Fraxinus pennsylvanica_ Marsh.), “aˈgîmak” [snow-shoe
wood]. All ash wood is quite valuable to the Ojibwe, as they use it for
bows and arrows, snow-shoe frames, sleds, basketry splints and cradle
boards as shown in plate 49, fig. 2. The Red Ash is not used for the
basketry splints when they can get Black Ash.
PINACEAE (PINE FAMILY)
=Balsam Fir= (_Abies balsamea_ [L.] Mill.), “jîngoˈb” [any kind of
fir tree]. More properly “jîngoˈb pikewaˈndag” [fir tree that goes up
to a peak]. The Ojibwe chop a hole in the trunk and allow the resin
to accumulate and harden. When gathered and boiled it becomes a canoe
pitch. It is usually boiled a second time with the addition of suet or
fat to make a canoe pitch of the proper consistency. Another name given
the tree is “jîngoˈbandag”.
=Tamarack= (_Larix laricina_ [DuRoi] Koch), “mûckiˈgwatîg” [swamp
tree]. Larch roots are also used as a sewing material by the Flambeau
and Couderay Ojibwe and they used to sew canoes with them. They also
make bags from the root fibers, which are considered especially durable.
=Black Spruce= (_Picea mariana_ [Mill.] BSP.), “jîngwûp” [its name].
The Flambeau and Couderay Ojibwe used these roots to sew canoes, and
from incisions in the bark gathered the resin to be boiled with tallow
to make pitch for caulking canoes.
=Jack Pine= (_Pinus banksiana_ Lamb.), “gîgaˈndag” [its name]. Jack
Pine roots have ever been esteemed by all Ojibwe as fine sewing
material for their canoes and other coarse and durable sewing. They
dig the roots with a grub hoe as shown in plate 55, fig. 1, and often
find them fifty or sixty feet long. These are split lengthwise into
two halves starting at the tree end, and are wrapped in coils as shown
in plate 55, fig. 2. They are then sunk in the lake which loosens the
bark and enables them to be scraped clean, as well as adding to their
flexibility. They are an ivory white when used and very tough and
flexible. An Ojibwe woman is shown sewing a canoe with them in plate
56, figure 2.
=Norway Pine= (_Pinus resinosa_ Ait.), “abakwanûgiˈmûg” [bark in
plates], shown in plate 63, fig. 2. The Flambeau Ojibwe gather resin
from the Norway Pine just as they do from the White Pine, Balsam and
Spruce, by chopping a hole into the trunk and collecting the resin as
it forms. It is boiled twice, being combined with tallow the second
time, to make a serviceable waterproof pitch. This is not only used for
caulking canoes, but for mending roof rolls of birch bark and other
things. The wood is also utilized.
=White Pine= (_Pinus strobus_ L.), “jîngwaˈkwacêskweˈdo” [white pine
cone], shown in plate 63, fig. 1. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the pitch
from the boiled cones, along with the resin that flows from boxed
trees, for caulking and waterproofing purposes.
=Arbor Vitae= (_Thuja occidentalis_ L.), “giˈjîg” [cedar or sky].
The Ojibwe worships the Arbor Vitae or White Cedar and the Paper or
Canoe Birch, as the two most useful trees in the forest. The pungent
fragrance of the leaves and wood of the Arbor Vitae are always an
acceptable incense to Winabojo, and the wood is their choice for light,
strong straight-grained canoe frames and ribs, as shown in plate 53,
figure 2. In earlier times, the tough stringy bark was used in making
fiber bags, but these are scarcely ever seen today.
=Hemlock= (_Tsuga canadensis_ [L.] Carr.), “gagagiˈwîc” [its name].
Hemlock bark was used by the Flambeau Ojibwe for fuel, when boiling
their pitch the second time, because the heat from it was more easily regulated than that from a wood fire.
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