Part 9

=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.

ROSACEAE (ROSE FAMILY)

=Hawthorn= (_Crataegus_ sp.), “mîneˈsagaˈwûnj”. The Flambeau Ojibwe women use the sharp thorns for sewing awls on finer work such as buckskin sewing with sinew.

SALICACEAE (WILLOW FAMILY)

=Shining Willow= (_Salix lucida_ Muhl.), “azisiˈgobmîc” [its name]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use this bark for their kinnikinnik or native smoking mixture. It is peeled and toasted over a fire and reduced to flakes.

SPHAGNACEAE (SPHAGNUM MOSS FAMILY)

=Sphagnum= (_Sphagnum dusenii_ C. Jens.), “asaˈgûmîg” [moss]. The Flambeau and Pillager Ojibwe find Sphagnum Moss, shown in plate 66, fig. 1, readily available. They gather and dry it to make mattresses.

TILIACEAE (BASSWOOD FAMILY)

=Basswood= (_Tilia americana_ L.), “wigub” [its name]. The tough fibrous bark of young basswood trees furnishes all Ojibwe with ready cordage and string in the woods, but it is also prepared by the women for future use. They strip the bark and peel the outer edge from the inner fiber with their teeth. The rolls are then kept in coils or are boiled and kept as coils until needed, being soaked again when used, to make them pliable. While they have countless uses for this cordage perhaps the most important is in tying the poles together for the framework of the wigwam or medicine lodge, as shown in plate 46, figure 2. When these crossings of poles are lashed together with wet bark fiber, it is easy to get a tight knot which shrinks when dry and makes an even tighter joint. The bark of an elm or a balsam, cut into broad strips is then sewed into place on the framework with basswood string. In olden times, an oak wood awl was used to punch holes in the bark, but at Leech Lake when they made the writer’s wigwam, as shown in plate 58, figure 2, they used an old file end for an awl. The writer lived in this new wigwam all the time he was among the Pillager Ojibwe and scarcely a night passed without a group of them visiting him and sitting around the campfire, telling old time stories.

TYPHACEAE (CAT-TAIL FAMILY)

=Cat-tail= (_Typha latifolia_ L.), “abûkweˈskwe” [wigwam cover; that is, the plant leaves]. The Flambeau Ojibwe women use the cat-tail leaves to make wind and rain-proof mats to be placed on the sides of the medicine lodge or any temporary wigwam or sweat lodge. They sew with a bone needle and nettle or basswood fiber with a hidden stitch, and bind the edges securely with their sewing cord. These mats are made quite large to cover the wigwams, and are rolled and carried around with them. They are not quite rain-proof as a roofing material, so birchbark rolls are used for that purpose. The fuzz or seed of the cat-tail is called “bebamasûˈn” [it flies around], and is used to make mattresses and sleeping bags. They say the fuzz will blind one if it gets into his eyes. They gather the heads and boil them first, which causes all the bugs to come out of them. Then they dry them and strip the fuzz, to make a mattress, which they claim is as soft as feathers, but very prone to mat together, so that it must be shaken often and thoroughly. They also make a quilt of it, and from the quilt a sleeping bag. This is declared to be soft and warm in the coldest weather.

URTICACEAE (NETTLE FAMILY)

=Wood Nettle= (_Laportea canadensis_ [L.] Gaud.), “masanaˈtîg” [woods fiber]. The Pillager Ojibwe say that their old people used the rind of this nettle as a sewing fiber.

=Slippery Elm= (_Ulmus fulva_ Michx.), “aniˈb” [its name]. The Pillager Ojibwe strip this bark to use as a wigwam cover, for the sides of the wigwam.

=Lyall’s Nettle= (_Urtica lyalli_ Wats.), “masan” [woods]. In aboriginal times, the Flambeau Ojibwe used the bark or rind of this nettle to give them a fine, stout sewing fiber.

OJIBWE VEGETAL DYES

Some of the old people among all Ojibwe still use vegetable and native dye stuffs, especially upon a mat or piece of material that they expect to keep for their own use. For the tourist trade, they will use “Diamond” dyes or any sort they can get as they are not especially interested in how well the color lasts in that case. John Whitefeather, Flambeau Ojibwe, asked the writer to find a good dye for them, as he had been unable to buy any since 1914. Several lots were sent to him, but none was found that had the penetration and permanence of the German dyes that he had before the war. He had to resort to native dye stuffs to get those qualities, but, of course, could not get the same range of colors in native dye stuffs. That was the main reason he sought more of the white man’s dyes.

They boil the material they wish to color in the mixture of plant parts and some earth to set the color. For this they use various clays, the red or black sand that bubbles up in a spring, or stone dust, perhaps with a few, rusty, iron nails thrown in the kettle for good measure. Sometimes the bark of Black Oak (_Quercus velutina_ Lam.) was used to set the color.

OJIBWE DYE PLANTS

ANACARDIACEAE (SUMAC FAMILY)

=Smooth Sumac= (_Rhus glabra_ L.), “bakwaˈnak” [binding tree]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the inner bark and the central pith of the stem of the Smooth Sumac, mixed with Bloodroot to obtain an orange color. The material is boiled in the mixture.

=Staghorn Sumac= (_Rhus typhina_ L.), “bakwanaˈtîg”. The Pillager Ojibwe do not have the Smooth Sumac, but use the Staghorn Sumac in the same way as the Flambeau Ojibwe use the other. The writer was unable to discover how they set the color unless it was with some stone dust that accumulated in the base of the kettle.

BALSAMINACEAE (TOUCH-ME-NOT FAMILY)

=Spotted Touch-me-not= (_Impatiens biflora_ Walt.), “oˈsawaskodjiˈbîk” [yellow root]. The whole plant is used by the Pillager Ojibwe to make a yellow dye and the material is boiled in the mixture with a few rusty nails.

BETULACEAE (BIRCH FAMILY)

=Speckled Alder= (_Alnus incana_ [L.] Moench.), “wadoˈb” [its name]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the inner bark for dyeing a light yellow, or with other ingredients to get a red, red brown or black. In occasional cases where sweet grass is dyed reddish yellow, the woman chews the inner bark and draws a wisp of sweet grass through her mouth weaving it in for color.

=Paper Birch= (_Betula alba_ L. var. _papyrifera_ [Marsh.] Spach), “wîgwas” [birch]. The innermost bark of the White Birch is boiled to extract a reddish dye by the Flambeau Ojibwe.

=Hazelnut= (_Corylus americana_ Walt.), “mûkwoˈbagaˈnak”. The Flambeau Ojibwe make use of the seed hulls of the Hazelnut in setting the black color of butternut dye. They are boiled together and the tannic acid of the hull sets the color.

FAGACEAE (BEECH FAMILY)

=Bur Oak= (_Quercus macrocarpa_ Michx.), “mêtîˈgomîc”. The Flambeau Ojibwe use this bark in combination with other materials to set color.

=Black Oak= (_Quercus velutina_ Lam.), “mêtîˈgomic”. The Flambeau Ojibwe use this bark for a reddish yellow dye and it sets its own color.

JUGLANDACEAE (WALNUT FAMILY)

=Butternut= (_Juglans cinerea_ L.), “bagaˈnag”. The Flambeau and Pillager Ojibwe find this one of their best brown dyes, because they can get it from the tree at any time of the year. It is usually used in other combinations for brown and black colors.

MYRICACEAE (BAYBERRY FAMILY)

=Sweet Gale= (_Myrica gale_ L.), “waˈsawasniˈmîke” [yellow catkins]. In the fall of the year, the tips of the branches grow into an abortive scale or gall-like structure that is plucked and boiled to yield a brown dye stuff. The Flambeau Ojibwe seem to be the only Ojibwe that know this.

PAPAVERACEAE (POPPY FAMILY)

=Bloodroot= (_Sanguinaria canadensis_ L.), “meskwaˈdjibîkûk” [red root]. The Ojibwe use this root in four or five combinations in dyeing various materials. It is not necessary to mix it with other materials to set the color and alone it gives a dark yellow or orange color. They use it to paint the face, also, making different clan marks with it. Either the fresh root or dried root may be used.

PINACEAE (PINE FAMILY)

=Hemlock= (_Tsuga canadensis_ [L.] Carr.), “gagagiˈwîc”. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the bark together with a little rock dust to set the color, to dye materials a dark red brown.

RANUNCULACEAE (CROWFOOT FAMILY)

=Goldthread= (_Coptis trifolia_ [L.] Salisb.), “weˈsawadjiˈbîkweˈak” [yellow root?], shown in plate 75, fig. 1. The Flambeau Ojibwe add the golden-colored roots to other plant dyes to emphasize the yellow color.

=Bristly Crowfoot= (_Ranunculus pennsylvanicus_ L. f.), “manweˈgons”. The entire plant is boiled by the Flambeau Ojibwe to yield a red coloring dye. Bur Oak is added to set the color.

ROSACEAE (ROSE FAMILY)

=Wild Plum= (_Prunus nigra_ Ait.), “bûgesanaˈtîg”. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the inner bark as an astringent color fixative in dyeing with other plant dyes.

MISCELLANEOUS USES OF PLANTS

John Whitefeather, of the Couderay Ojibwe, in explaining the four degrees of the medicine lodge, told the writer about the many uses of charms or bewitching plants that the initiate learned in the fourth degree. The Mîde who perfected himself in the fourth degree was called a juggler or “Jessakîd”. He is supposed to have supernatural powers of magic, and can read the thoughts of others, as well as call forth the ghosts or spirits of the other world. He can give Indians charms or lures which will aid them to do almost anything they have in mind, and he is most feared and respected among the Ojibwe.

These charms are supposed to work without physical contact and are thus different from medicines. They are addressed and prayed over, often with ceremonial tobacco offered to the four points of the compass, to heaven and the earth. They are usually referred to as medicine, and are carried in little buckskin packages about the person of the owner. Much of the contents of the war bundle, hunting bundle or medicine bundle, is composed of such charms. They guarantee a safe journey, the winning of a lacrosse or bowl and dice game, and the ability to find persons lost in the woods or lost articles. They can bewitch a man’s wife, win the love of the opposite sex, work evil, and attract game to be shot, or small animals to one’s traps. There is no doubt that medicines were often applied with as much faith in their power to charm as belief in the medicinal value of the medicine root for that specific disease. The connection between actual and superstitious remedies was oftentimes close.

Although a juggler or witch doctor had the power to cast these spells or charms, he was also supposed to have the power to dispel them and cure them. John Whitefeather called attention to the frequent wry mouth or twisted side of an Indian’s face, and said that it had been caused by some witch doctor, but that it could be corrected by the victim, if he would pay the medicine man more to heal it than the one had paid for bringing on the affliction in the first instance. Many of their people think this unjust and the medicine man who does it may have to leave the village and flee for his life. This actually happened in the case of Anawabi and the boy who died of pneumonia, the parents claiming that Anawabi took his breath away. Of course, Anawabi was not within miles of the boy and assured the writer that he had nothing at all to do with that case, nor had even thought about it, but he made a hurried trip to Oklahoma and remained a couple of years until the anger of the parents had lessened.

Some plants had been used in various tanning processes a very long time ago by the Ojibwe, but none know anything about it now, so far as the writer could discover.

APOCYNACEAE (DOGBANE FAMILY)

=Spreading Dogbane= (_Apocynum androsaemifolium_ L.), “magoˈsiñeˈcnakwûk” [needle like].[147] The Pillager Ojibwe say that this is one of the roots the use of which is taught in the fourth degree of the medicine lodge, and that it is not only eaten during the medicine lodge ceremony, but is also chewed to keep the other witch doctors from affecting one with an evil charm.

ARACEAE (ARUM FAMILY)

=Sweet Flag= (_Acorus calamus_ L.), “naˈbûgûck” [something flat]. The root tea of this is used by Big George, Flambeau Ojibwe, on his gill net to bring him a fine catch of white fish. The net still smelled of the Calamus root after being in the water more than twelve hours, and he caught 121 white fish in one pull of the net in Flambeau Lake. It is combined with the root of Sarsaparilla.

ARALIACEAE (GINSENG FAMILY)

=Wild Sarsaparilla= (_Aralia nudicaulis_ L.), “bebamabiˈk” [root runs far through the ground]. This root is mixed with Sweet Flag root to make a tea to soak a gill net before setting it to catch fish during the night. Big George Skye, at Lac du Flambeau, was quite successful in catching them.

ASCLEPIADACEAE (MILKWEED FAMILY)

=Common Milkweed= (_Asclepias syriaca_ L.), “înîniˈwûnj” [Indian plant].[148] The Pillager Ojibwe use the milk of the Common Milkweed along with the milk of Canada Hawkweed to put on a deer call, thinking that it will better imitate the call of a fawn that is hungry or in distress.

COMPOSITAE (COMPOSITE FAMILY)

=Blue Wood Aster= (_Aster cordifolius_ L.), “naskosiˈîcûs”. A number of the composites as well as plants from other families are used in the Ojibwe hunting charms. The deer carries its scent or spoor in between its toes, and wherever the foot is impressed into the ground, other animals can detect its presence. It is thus dogs track them. It is a peculiar scent and the Ojibwe tries successfully to counterfeit it with roots and herbs. The root of this aster is but one of nineteen that can be used to make a smoke or incense when smoked in a pipe, which attracts the deer near enough to shoot it with a bow and arrow. They say that the white man drives the deer away when he smokes cigarettes or cigars, but the Indians bring them closer.

=Large-leaved Aster= (_Aster macrophyllus_ L.), “naskosiˈîcûs”. This is one of the Flambeau Ojibwe hunting charms. It is smoked to attract deer.

=Horse-weed= (_Erigeron canadensis_ L.), “wabîˈgwûn” [white flower]. This is one of the Flambeau Ojibwe hunting charms. The disk florets are smoked.

=Philadelphia Fleabane= (_Erigeron philadelphicus_ L.), “mîcaoˈgacan” [odor of split hoof of female deer]. The Pillager Ojibwe use the disk florets of this plant to smoke to attract the buck deer. They say that cows and deer eat the blossoms.

=Canada Hawkweed= (_Hieracium canadense_ Michx.) Under the name “wabîˈgwûn” [white flower], some of the Flambeau Ojibwe use the flowers to make a hunting lure, and mix it with their other hunting charms. Others call it “mêmîskûˈnakûk” and say that they cut off the roots and nibble at them when hunting. The roots are milky like the stem and the hunter wanting a doe will pretend he is a fawn trying to suckle and thus attract a doe close enough to shoot with bow and arrow.

=Tall Blue Lettuce= (_Lactuca spicata_ [Lam.] Hitchc.), “dodocaˈbo” [milk]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use this plant in the same manner as they do the Canada Hawkweed to attract a doe to them for a close shot.

=Fragrant Golden-rod= (_Solidago graminifolia_ [L.] Salisb.), “waˈsawaskwûneˈk” [yellow light]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the flowers of this golden-rod to add to their hunting medicine, which is smoked to simulate the odor of a deer’s hoof.

=Tansy= (_Tanacetum vulgare_ L.), “mûckîkiˈwît” [medicine plant]. The yellow flowers are used by the Flambeau Ojibwe as an addition to their odorous hunting mixture which they smoke to attract deer.

CORNACEAE (DOGWOOD FAMILY)

=Alternate-leaved Dogwood= (_Cornus alternifolia_ L. f.), “mosoˈmîc” [moose tree]. The root is boiled by the Flambeau Ojibwe to wash a muskrat trap and make it lure the muskrat.

ERICACEAE (HEATH FAMILY)

=Shin Leaf= (_Pyrola americana_ Sweet.), “bîneˈbûg” [partridge leaf]. The Flambeau Ojibwe hunter makes a tea from dried leaves of this plant and drinks it as a good luck potion in the morning before he starts to hunt.

IRIDACEAE (IRIS FAMILY)

=Blue Flag= (_Iris versicolor_ L.) “wikê”.[149] Both Flambeau and Pillager Ojibwe use this as a charm against snakes and claim that Indians all over the country use it the same way. When the Ojibwe go out blueberrying all day, every one carries a piece of it in his clothes and will handle it every little while to perpetuate the scent. They believe that snakes will shun them while so protected. They say that the Arizona Indians use it when they hold their snake dances and are never struck as long as their clothes are fumigated with it. They also chew it to get the odor into their mouths, preparatory to taking rattlesnakes into their teeth. The rattlesnake never offers to bite them so long as the scent of the Blue Flag persists.

LABIATAE (MINT FAMILY)

=Heal-all= (_Prunella vulgaris_ L.), “basiˈbûgûk”. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root of this plant to make a tea to drink before going hunting. It is supposed to sharpen their powers of observation.

LILIACEAE (LILY FAMILY)

=Northern Clintonia= (_Clintonia borealis_ [Ait.] Raf.), “adotaˈgans” [little bell].[150] The Pillager Ojibwe claim that dogs chew the roots of this plant to poison their teeth, and if they then bite an animal it will die. A man may protect himself from such a bite by using the same root as a poultice on the wound.

=Sessile-leaved Bellwort= (_Oakesia sessilifolia_ [L.] Wats.), “neweîaˈkwisînk” [one sided]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root of this plant as a part of their mîcaoˈgacan hunting medicine to bring a buck deer near the hunter.

ORCHIDACEAE (ORCHIS FAMILY)

=Rein Orchis= (_Habenaria bracteata_ [Willd.] R. Br.), “gokoˈcgûnda mîneskweˈmîn” [pig does, red root]. This plant is a sort of love charm among the Pillager Ojibwe often put to bad use.

=Slender Ladies’ Tresses= (_Spiranthes gracilis_ [Bigel.] Beck), “bîneˈbûg” [partridge leaf]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the root as an ingredient of their hunting charm to bring game to them.

PLANTAGINACEAE (PLANTAIN FAMILY)

=Common Plantain= (_Plantago major_ L.), “cecaˈgûski bûgeˈsînk” [leaves grow up and also lie flat on the ground].[151] The highly colored base and root of this plant appeal to the Flambeau Ojibwe who always carry some of the ground root in their pockets to ward off snakes.

POLYGONACEAE (BUCKWHEAT FAMILY)

=Swamp Persicaria= (_Polygonum muhlenbergii_ [Meisn.] Wats.) “agoñgosiˈmînûn”. The Flambeau Ojibwe dry the flower of this plant and then include it in their hunting medicine, which is smoked to attract deer to the hunter.

=Curled Dock= (_Rumex crispus_ L.), “ciobûg”. The dried seeds of this dock are smoked when dried by the Flambeau Ojibwe, as a favorable lure to game when mixed with kinnikinnik.

PRIMULACEAE (PRIMROSE FAMILY)

=Starflower= (_Trientalis americana_ [Pers.] Pursh.), “nawoˈbûgûk” [four-leaved clover]. The root of this is mixed with many others to make the smoking scent that attracts the deer to the hunter, according to the Flambeau Ojibwe.

RANUNCULACEAE (CROWFOOT FAMILY)

=Bristly Crowfoot= (_Ranunculus pennsylvanicus_ L. f.), “manweˈ gons”. The Flambeau Ojibwe smoke the seeds of this in their hunting medicine to lure the buck deer near enough for a shot with bow and arrow.

ROSACEAE (ROSE FAMILY)

=Hawthorn= (_Crataegus_ Sp.), “mînesagaˈwûnj”, shown in plate 77, fig. 2. The bark of the Hawthorn was used by the Flambeau Ojibwe in making up their deer scent for smoking to attract deer while hunting.

SCROPHULARIACEAE (FIGWORT FAMILY)

=Wood Betony= (_Pedicularis canadensis_ L.), “mandaˈmînîodjiˈbîkêns” [little corn root]. This is a sort of love charm according to John Peper, Pillager Ojibwe, who said that the root was chopped up and put into some dish of food that was cooking, without the knowledge of the people who were going to eat it, and if they had been quarrelsome, then they became lovers again. However, he said it was too often put to bad uses.

TYPHACEAE (CAT-TAIL FAMILY)

=Cat-tail= (_Typha latifolia_ L.) “bebaˈmasûn” [it flies around]. The Flambeau Ojibwe used to throw the fuzz of the fruit into the eyes of their enemies, the Sioux, claiming that it blinded them.

UMBELLIFERAE (PARSLEY FAMILY)

=Musquash Root= (_Cicuta maculata_ L.), “abagwasîˈgans”. The root of this is used in making a hunting medicine to be smoked to attract the buck deer near enough to shoot with bow and arrow.

=Cow Parsnip= (_Heracleum lanatum_ Michx.) “pipigweˈwanûck” [flute reed]. According to the Flambeau Ojibwe, there is a bad spirit “sokênau”, who is always present trying to steal away one’s luck in hunting game. He must be driven away from the camp of the hunter by smudging a fire with the roots of the Cow Parsnip. This gets into Sokênau’s eyes and he cannot see the hunter leave the camp, so naturally does not follow and bother him. Other Flambeau Ojibwe call it “acaweˈskûk” but use it in the same way. The Pillager Ojibwe have the same name for the plant, but put the seed of the plant on a fire to drive away Sokênau. They boil the root to sprinkle their fishing nets and lure fish.

=Water Parsnip= (_Sium cicutaefolium_ Schrank.), “waneˈmîgons”. The seed of this is smoked over a fire by the Flambeau Ojibwe to drive away and blind Sokênau, the evil spirit that steals away one’s hunting luck.