Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians 8

Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians 8

Ox-eye Daisy= (_Chrysanthemum leucanthemum_ L.). The Flambeau Ojibwe

had no name for this, as they said it was from the south, and they do

not use it.

 

=Canada Thistle= (_Cirsium arvense_ [L.] Scop.) “masaˈ nûck”

[prickly]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the plant for a bowel tonic. Canada

Thistle is one of the worst American weeds, and white men have used the

dried plant for a diuretic and tonic.

 

=Common Thistle= (_Cirsium lanceolatum_ [L.] Hill), “jiˈ masaˈnûck”.

The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root of this for alleviating stomach cramps

in both men and women. The dried plant has been used by the whites as a

diuretic and tonic.

 

=Philadelphia Fleabane= (_Erigeron philadelphicus_ L.) “mîcaoˈgacan”

[odor of deer hoof]. The Pillager Ojibwe use the flowers to make a tea

to break fevers. The smoke of the dried flowers is inhaled to cure a

cold in the head. The disk flowers, pulverized, were snuffed up the

nostrils to cause the patient to sneeze and thus loosen a cold in the

head. The whites have used the Canada Fleabane as a remedy in the

pharmacopoeia, and also have used the Philadelphia Fleabane locally,

but for different purposes. It is diuretic rather than astringent.

 

=Daisy Fleabane= (_Erigeron ramosus_ [Walt.] BSP). The Flambeau

Ojibwe do not assign this plant a special name but class it as a

“nokweˈ sîgûn” or perfume for curing sick headache. Several species of

_Erigeron_ have been substituted by white men for the Canada Fleabane,

which is used as a diaphoretic and expectorant.

 

=Joe-Pye Weed= (_Eupatorium purpureum_ L.), “bûˈ gîsowe” [bathing]. The

Flambeau Ojibwe make a strong solution of the root, with which to wash

a papoose up till the time he is six years old. This is supposed to

strengthen him.

 

Joe-Pye is officinal but not official among white men. Official

designates that it is authorized by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia while

officinal means that it is regularly kept for sale in drug stores.

Officinal remedies are much used by eclectic practitioners. The root

has the odor of old hay and is diuretic, stimulant, astringent and

tonic. It has been used in chronic urinary disorders, gout, rheumatism,

and hematuria.

 

=Tall Blue Lettuce= (_Lactuca spicata_ [Lam.] Hitchc.), “dadocaˈbo”

[milk]. The Flambeau Ojibwe employ the plant to make a tea given to

women with caked breasts to render lactation easier. A dog whisker hair

is used to pierce the teat. Among white men _Lactuca_ was formerly

employed as a soporific and sedative.

 

=White Lettuce= (_Prenanthus alba_ L.), “wecaˈ wûs waˈ ckwînêsk”

[yellow light]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the milk of the White Lettuce

as a diuretic, especially in female diseases. The root is also used as

a female remedy.

 

White men have used the root decoction internally for dysentery. Old

time herb doctors gave the milk of the plant internally, and used the

leaves, steeped in hot water, as a poultice for the bite of a snake.

 

=Black-eyed Susan= (_Rudbeckia hirta_ L.). The Flambeau Ojibwe claim

that this plant is adventive from the south and have no name or use for

it. It has been used by the white men as a diuretic.

 

=Golden Ragwort= (_Senecio aureus_ L.).

 

=Entire-leaved Groundsel= (_Senecio integerrimus_ Nutt.) Both of these

plants are considered adventive by the Pillager Ojibwe and neither was

named nor used.

 

Under the name squaw weed, white men have exploited the Golden Ragwort

as a female regulator, claiming diuretic, pectoral, diaphoretic and

tonic properties. It is also said to be useful in treating gravel and

other urinary affections.

 

=Indian Cup Plant= (_Silphium perfoliatum_ L.), “asasaˈ weskûk” [square

stem]. According to John White Feather, of the Flambeau Ojibwe, this

root was carried from Iowa and transplanted on the Lac du Flambeau

Ojibwe Reservation. They all accept it as great medicine. A tea is

made from the root for lumbago and some other kinds of rheumatic pains

in the back. John Peper, Pillager Ojibwe, gave it the same Indian

name and said that an old Indian had brought it to Bear Island from

Iowa a hundred years ago, and had planted it in his field, whence it

escaped to the south end of the island. He said they use it for stomach

trouble, and hemorrhage. White men have used the Indian Cup Plant root

for its tonic, diaphoretic and alterative properties. It has also been

used in intermittent fevers, ulcers, liver affections and debility. The

resinous gum collected from the stem has been used by the whites as a

stimulant and antispasmodic.

 

=Fragrant Golden-rod= (_Solidago graminifolia_ [L.] Salisb.), “wasaˈ

waskwûneˈk” [yellow light]. Besides being of use in hunting medicine,

the flowers in infusion were used by the Flambeau Ojibwe for a pain in

the chest.

 

Golden-rod leaves and flowers have at times held a rather important

place in materia medica, for their carminative, and antispasmodic

properties. They have also been used as an intestinal astringent.

 

=Tansy= (_Tanacetum vulgare_ L.) “muckikiˈwît” [medicine]. The Flambeau

Ojibwe have no distinctive name for this plant, claiming it came from

the south and they were told it was good for fevers.

 

Among white men, it is deemed tonic, emmenagogue and diaphoretic. It

has been used in a cold infusion in convalescence from exhausting

diseases, dyspepsia, hysteria and jaundice.

 

=Dandelion= (_Taraxacum officinale_ Weber) “wesaˈusakwûnek” [yellow

light].[103] While the Flambeau Ojibwe do not use this plant, the

Pillager Ojibwe give it a name and use the root for a tea for

heartburn. It was found growing at the north end of Bear Island in

Leech Lake, Minnesota.

 

Among the whites, the virtues of the root are much overrated. The dried

root is steeped in boiling water and is used as a stomachic and tonic,

with slight diuretic and aperient action.

 

=Cocklebur= (_Xanthium commune_ Britton), “sakatiˈkomûk” [stickers].

Although giving it a name, the Flambeau Ojibwe did not use it. It has

been used by white men in intermittent fevers, also as a diuretic,

diaphoretic and sialagogue.

 

 

CORNACEAE (DOGWOOD FAMILY)

 

=Alternate-leaved Dogwood= (_Cornus alternifolia_ L. f.) “mosoˈmîc”

[moose tree].[104] The Pillager Ojibwe use the inner bark for an

emetic. Although other species of _Cornus_ are officinal with white

men, there is no record of the use of this species.

 

=Bunchberry= (_Cornus canadensis_ L.) “odeˈ imînîdjiˈ bîk” [strawberry

root, or heart-berry root]. The Bunchberry or Dwarf Cornel somewhat

resembles the Wild Strawberry. The Flambeau Ojibwe make a tea from the

root, which is used to cure babies of colic. There is no record of its

medicinal use by the whites, though it has been eaten by them.

 

=Panicled Dogwood= (_Cornus paniculata_ L’Her.), “meskwabiˈ mîc” [red

bush]. It is peculiar that the Flambeau Ojibwe would call this a red

bush, for the branches are distinctly gray. Only the fruit stalks

or pedicels are bright red. The bark is used as a tea for flux. An

aggregate of this bark compressed into a stopper shape is forced into

the anus as a treatment for piles. There is no record of its use by the

whites.

 

 

CRUCIFERAE (MUSTARD FAMILY)

 

=Tower Mustard= (_Arabis glabra_ [L.] Bernh.), “misodjidamoˈ anûk”

[black squirrel tail]. Although the Pillager Ojibwe have a name for

this plant, they say it is from the south, and they do not use it.

There is no record of its use by white men.

 

=Marsh Cress= (_Radicula palustris_ [L.] var. _hispida_ [Desv.]

Robinson), “wabîgwûn” [yellow flower]. The Flambeau Ojibwe name for

Marsh Cress is not very distinctive although it does have yellowish

flowers. They have no use for the plant as it came in from the south,

according to them. Neither have white men.

 

=Tansy-mustard= (_Sisymbrium canescens_ Nutt.) The Pillager Ojibwe do

not know this plant, which they consider to be adventive from the south

and do not use it. Aside from the fact that the seeds have a volatile

oil similar to mustard seed, the whites do not use it.

 

 

CUCURBITACEAE (GOURD FAMILY)

 

=Squash= (_Cucurbita maxima_ Duchesne.) “ogwîssiˈmaun oˈwasokwûneˈk”

[threads like hair; yellow light]. The Flambeau Ojibwe used the seed

tea as a diuretic. There is no distinctive medicinal use of squash

among the whites.

 

=Wild Balsam-apple= (_Echinocystis lobata_ [Michx.] T. & G.) “nîgîtîniˈ

gûnûk” or “mîtcigiˈ mênûk” [man in the ground], shown in plate 69,

fig. 1. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root tea as a bitter medicine for

stomach troubles and as a tonic. The root is certainly bitter enough.

On the west coast, the root has been employed by white men as a simple

bitter.

 

 

CYPERACEAE (SEDGE FAMILY)

 

=Hare’s Tail= (_Eriophorum callitrix_ Cham.) “bîweeˈ ckînûk” [fuzz of

fruit]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the matted fuzz as a hemostatic. Under

the name “mesadiˈ wackons” [little catkins from popple], the Pillager

Ojibwe refer to it, but none of them knew any use for it. There has

been a limited use of its tannic properties as an astringent by white

men.

 

 

EQUISETACEAE (HORSETAIL FAMILY)

 

=Field Horsetail= (_Equisetum arvense_ L.) “gîjiˈ bînûsk,” [duck

round].[105] The Pillager Ojibwe use the whole plant to make a tea

to cure the dropsy. The plant has been used indefinitely chiefly in

domestic practice by the whites.

 

=Wood Horsetail= (_Equisetum sylvaticum_ L.), “sibaˈ mûckûn”. The

Pillager Ojibwe use the whole plant to make a tea to cure kidney

trouble and dropsy. It has not been much used by the whites, except as a domestic remedy for gravel.