Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians 2
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
Post-Pal Medio-Pal Pre-Pal Dental Bilabial
Stop k, g d t t b p
Spirant c j s z
Affricative dj tc f v
Nasal ñ n m
s as in since
g as in give
z as in zeal
c as sound of sh
j as sound of zh
tc as sound of tc in witch
dj as sound of j in jug
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.
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