Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians 4

Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians 4

 Nin ba ba odjiˈbîke

_I go to gather roots;_

 

oˈoˈweˈdasaˈssema

_here is tobacco;_

 

mînode ni nowi nîmîcîn

_Give me direct guidance,_

 

gi wedjiˈbîkeiˈen

_You,-maker of roots_

 

da mino wi djiˈbîkeiˈan.

_That I may get the proper roots._

 

Their story of creation is the common one among the northern

Algonkians. They believe that all objects, both animate and inanimate

possess some mysterious power, and speak of that power as the manido

that dwells in it. On the Lac du Flambeau Reservation, the writer saw

two or three large stones, shown in plate 48, fig. 2, that were thought

to be spirit rocks. They also believed that the spirit of the departed

brave often returns to the grave, as long as the body has not turned

to dust. They often buried the body in a sitting position facing west,

or in a shallow grave on its back or side, making a mound, over which

bark, birch poles or boards were erected, to form a little grave house,

as shown in plate 51, fig. 2. This, they believe to be often inhabited

by the spirit of the departed one which they occasionally feed with

wild rice or dried jerky (deer meat) through a small opening. According

to McKenney,[91] the Ojibwe of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, buried their

dead in a box which was elevated upon a platform of poles. Mourning for

the departed usually lasted a year, unless some medicine man shortened

the time, or a relative performed some notable feat in war.

 

Their religion was the teachings of their Grand Medicine society or

midewiwin. The Ojibwe are probably the strictest disciples of this

society of any of our Wisconsin Indians and the part played by plants

is the greatest of any factor. Things other than plants were used, such

as rattlesnake meat, duck bones, clay and feathers, but these were so

far in the minority that they are scarcely worth mentioning. According

to the Ojibwe, every plant is medicine; if not to your particular

informant, then to some other medicine man or woman. It was a matter

of finding the proper informant to get the correct name and use.

Consequently, in the field we gathered every tree, shrub, perennial

or annual, herb or grass we encountered. All of these being medicinal

plants were thus sacred to them and must be secured with the proper

mide ceremony. This consisted of an explanatory song, and the offering

of tobacco to grandmother, the earth, and Winabojo, their cultural hero.

 

The constant effort of the Government to educate the Indian is

resulting in the gradual discarding of the medicine lodge ceremonies.

The Ojibwe, who have stayed on the frontier of civilization, are among

the last to change, and have clung tenaciously to their medicine

society. As with other Wisconsin Indians, the Ojibwe love their

children dearly and are rarely harsh to them. The children are taught

to dance at an early age and while subsequent education may make them

forget the names and uses of medicinal plants, they never forget the

dance tunes and steps. It is a common conception among white men that

it is useless to educate an Indian. Too many have agreed with Mark

Twain that “the only good Indian is a dead one.” Stories are related

concerning Indian college graduates that revert to the tepee and to

the dog feast. Some of these may be true, but according to Indian

psychology, there is nothing disgraceful about this. It is the fallacy

of the white man in trying to impose his culture on other peoples and

in always assuming that it is superior to any other way of living.

We are prone to point to the exceptional fall from grace, and forget

about the many who have made a success of their life according to

our standards. There are many full-blooded Indian men and women in

Milwaukee, who are useful citizens. Many Milwaukee men and women are

proud of the Indian strain in their blood. Education has been of great

assistance to the Ojibwe, who have many times proven that they have

the same capabilities as their white brothers. The Indian has the same

anatomical characteristics as the Caucasian race and is capable of

going far along the road of education.

 

Since the field work among the Ojibwe was completed in 1923 and 1924,

some scattering members of the tribe have adopted the peyote lodge. The

Ojibwe are fond of visiting and, in the summer time, some are always

away on visits to other tribes in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, the

Dakotas, Kansas or Oklahoma. The old idea of fighting other tribes was

forgotten long ago and they feel that all red men are their brothers.

Those Ojibwe who have visited the Winnebago Indians in Wisconsin have

been especially influenced to adopt the peyote cult. This rarely

happens where the Ojibwe live in close contact with their tribesmen on

reservations. But several live as isolated families on the shores of

our northern lakes, and when they adopt the peyote religion they throw

overboard all of their medicine lodge paraphernalia and beliefs.

 

The members of the peyote cult, chew and swallow the peyote buttons

which are the button-shaped branches of a cactus (_Lophophora

williamsii_) found in Texas, New Mexico and Old Mexico. The practice

is said to have originated among the Indians of old Mexico. Under

its narcotic influence the peyote Indian claims to see in a vision

and to commune with Jesus Christ, who gives him the rule of conduct

for his life. The Indians justify their use of peyote by comparing

it to the sacramental wine of the white man. However, peyote carries

a governmental disapproval and the Indian police are supposed to be

vigilantly alert for peyote. A jail sentence, as well as confiscation

of the supply of peyote, is meted out to any member they can detect

using it.

 

Another type of ceremonial dance used by the Ojibwe, and in fact by

all of the forest Indians of Wisconsin, is the dream dance, such as is

shown in plate 47, fig. 1. While this is sacred, it is not performed

in secret, and the white people are often invited to come and witness

these dances. They do come from many miles away to see the Indian

dances and games. At the Lac du Flambeau Reservation, they perform

several kinds of dances, such as the corn dance, the warrior dance, the

prisoner dance, the deer hunt dance, and many others.

 

One dance in particular was brought back from Oklahoma by Anawabi.

It is called the “Squaw Dance.” In it men and women dance together,

as shown in figure 20 of the Museum’s Yearbook for 1923. Anawabi,

the medicine man, was credited with powers of witchcraft as well as

healing. A young Ojibwe boy sick with pneumonia, told his parents in

a delirium that Anawabi had come and was taking his breath away. His

parents believed him, and he eventually died, but before he did, some

friend hastened to Anawabi and Anawabi stood not on the order of his

going, but left at once for Oklahoma where he stayed two years. He

probably witnessed the modern two step among the Oklahoma Indians,

which they called the “Squaw Dance.” It is distinctly opposed to the

Indian way of dancing. It has always been the custom for women to

remain in the background at any of the old time dances, dancing by

themselves, outside and back of the circle or group of the men. For

them to take an equal part in a dance seems out of place. This caused a

rift in the tribe, and the older residents at the old Flambeau village

will have nothing to do with such dances.

 

The participants in the dream dance usually dress in all of their

native finery and nowadays wear many ornaments that are not of Ojibwe

origin. While under the spell of the singing and drumming, the dancers

assume a smiling face and are usually oblivious to the presence of any

spectators.

 

The Ojibwe use two types of drums. One is the large dream-dance drum,

about two feet in diameter and fourteen inches deep. The other is

a tambourine-shaped drum of rawhide only a couple of inches thick

and possibly ten inches in diameter, suspended by a loop of sinew,

decorated with human figures, and beaten with the hands or a smaller

bone drum stick. This drum is used in games and the songs differ

considerably for the various games. La Crosse, the woman’s shinny game,

the bowl and dice game, the moccasin game and others are all announced

by preliminary songs from the chief, who accompanies himself on the

game drum.

 

In writing this bulletin, the system adopted in previous bulletins will

be followed. Plants not found to be of use are included in this list,

as other investigators may find that they were used. The listing of

each plant will be by family and English names, followed by the Latin

binomial according to Gray’s Manual of Botany, then the Ojibwe name and

its literal translation, if that be known. Following this will be the

uses, methods of use, supposed properties, its value as an official

or eclectic drug by the whites, and any known myth connected with it.

The same procedure will be followed in the other subheadings under

investigation, viz.: foods, fibers, dyes, and plants of miscellaneous

uses such as utility, good luck charms, love potions and so on.

 

 

 

 

OJIBWE MEDICINES

 

 

The Ojibwe are probably the best informed and the strictest observers

of the medicine lodge ceremonies in the country. Their knowledge of

plants both in their own environment and far away is probably the best

of any group of Indians. While their flora is not so rich in species as

that of Indians farther south, they make trips far away from their home

to obtain necessary plants.

 

As among the white people, one plant may bear several common names,

according to different individuals in different sections of the

country, and again, one name may be given to several plants, as in the

case of plants used as “revivers”. Yet, there is an agreement in names

of Lac du Flambeau and Leech Lake Ojibwe, that well checks information

received. The name is usually descriptive, just as their names for

animals usually are either descriptive or representative of the cry

or note uttered by the animal, like “ko-ko-ko-o”, the hoot owl, or

“ka-ka-ka”, the raven or crow. The medicine name usually tells what

the plant looks like, where it may be found, some peculiar taste or

property, or its chief use. Often a termination is added signifying the

plural of a noun or the part of the plant used, such as the wood, the

leaf, the flower, the root, or the berry or fruit.

 

It is worth noting that they understand the proper time to gather the

plant part. At times, the medicinal qualities are inert, undeveloped

or dispersed by being too old. Much of the knowledge of white men

originated from studying the Indian plant uses, in the early days.

Eclectic practitioners sought the Indian herbs and observed carefully

what parts of the plant were used. This mass of early information

was sifted scientifically by the students of medicine, and finally

tested physiologically on animals. Perhaps sixty-five per cent of

their remedies were found to be potent and are included in our

pharmacopoeas; the other thirty-five per cent were discovered to be

valueless medicinally. All of the references to uses of the plants by

white men were obtained from the 1916 edition of the National Standard

Dispensatory, by Hare, Caspari & Rusby.

 

The medicine man depended largely upon his reputation and often cured

fancied diseases by shamanistic suggestions. His peculiar incantations

to the patient to inspire confidence and induce the patient to think

he was getting well, often worked, as it works in the case of quack

doctors and credulous white men. The young man who had the proper

dream following the period of fasting in his youth, predicting his

predilection towards the medicine man’s profession, was taken through

a rigorous course of training. Individual knowledge was handed down

through the family. Instruction to boys and girls usually comes from

the uncle or aunt, and if they have no natural uncle or aunt, then one

is assigned to them. This is considered the closest relationship among

Wisconsin Indians, and when one is adopted into the tribe and given a

medicine bag, it will be through the sponsorship of an uncle for his

nephew. Among the Ojibwe, both at Lac du Flambeau and at Lac Court

Oreilles, the writer is known as Shagashkandawe “Flying Squirrel,”

which they say was the name of a famous old chief and medicine man.