plant]. They have cultivated this original Ojibwe dark yellow pie
pumpkin since long before the advent of the white man. They cut it into
rings and sun dry it for winter use.
=Gourds= (_Lagenaria vulgaris_ Ser.), “jicaˈwîgan” [hollow like]. The
Ojibwe cultivate the gourds, which they eat when young, before the rind
has hardened. They also make use of them for drinking and dipping cups,
and for rattles in the medicine lodge. The medicine man, “mîdewag”,
keeps the rhythm of his songs by shaking them. They are pierced,
kernels of corn or shells inserted, and then corked again for use.
EQUISETACEAE (HORSETAIL FAMILY)
=Field Horsetail= (_Equisetum arvense_ L.), “gîjiˈ bînûsk” [duck
food].[137] The Pillager Ojibwe gather this for their domesticated
ducks to eat and also to feed their ponies, to make their coats glossy.
ERICACEAE (HEATH FAMILY)
=Bog Rosemary= (_Andromeda glaucophylla_ Link.), “bîneˈ mîkci” [swamp].
Young, tender leaves and tips of this plant are used by the Flambeau
Ojibwe to boil for a beverage tea. While they often pick and use it
fresh on the hunting trail, they also gather and dry it for later use.
It is not a bad substitute for “store tea.”
=Leather Leaf= (_Chamaedaphne calyculata_ [L.] Moench.), “wabackîkiˈ
bûg” [rabbit leaf]. This is another beverage tea leaf, prized by the
Flambeau Ojibwe. It is used on the trail or dried and saved for future
use. The Pillager Ojibwe also use it in the same manner, under the
name,—“mackiˈ gobûgons” [little swamp leaf].
=Wintergreen= (_Gaultheria procumbens_ L.), “wînîsiˈ bûgûd” [dirty
leaf], shown in plate 75, fig. 2. While the Flambeau Ojibwe use this as
a rheumatic medicine, they also use the leaf tea from the youngest,
tenderest leaves as a beverage tea, and especially favor it because it
“makes them feel good”. They also eat the wintergreen berry which they
call “owînîsiˈ mîn”.
=Labrador Tea= (_Ledum groenlandicum_ Oeder.), “waboskîkiˈ bûg” [rabbit
leaf], shown in plate 76, fig. 2. The Flambeau Ojibwe use the tender
leaves of this plant for a beverage tea, and will even eat the leaves
in the tea. It is a well known tea to many northern and Canadian
Indians.
=Cranberry= (_Vaccinium oxycoccos_ L.), “mûckiˈ mîn” [swamp berry]
shown in plate 67, fig. 2. This is an important wild food of the
Flambeau Indians and also of the Pillager Ojibwe, who use a slightly
different pronunciation, “mûckîtciˈ mîn” [swamp berry]. The train
men that go through that reservation never seem to tire of getting
Johnnie Frog to say “cranberry pie” for them in Ojibwe. It sounds
so complicated because they really have no word for pie in their
language but must say, “swamp berries made into sauce rolled between
bread”,—“mûckiˈ gimînûn backiˈ mînasîgûn wiwegidaˈsîgûn”.
=Blueberry= (_Vaccinium pennsylvanicum_ Lam.), “mînûn” [berries]. The
Flambeau and the Pillager Ojibwe harvest quantities of blueberries both
for themselves and to sell. They dry them in large quantities on raised
scaffolds of rush mats, like currants, or raisins, which they somewhat
resemble. In the winter, they like to cook them with dried sweet corn,
sweetened with maple sugar. They also cook them with wild rice, and
venison and make a sweet bread with them. They have different names for
different varieties of blueberries. The Low Blueberry (_V. vacillans_
Kalm.) is called “gimîneˈsît” while the low Black Blueberry (_V.
nigrum_ [Wood] Britton) is called “makateˈ mîn” [black blueberry]. No
specimens of the last two were secured, but the names were common among
the Ojibwe.
FAGACEAE (BEECH FAMILY)
=Beech= (_Fagus grandifolia_ Ehrh.) “gaweˈmîc”. All the Ojibwe know and
appreciate the sweet nuts of the beech tree. They are never plentiful
enough to store for winter, but the Indians like them fresh.
=White Oak= (_Quercus alba_ L.), “mîciˈ mîn” [oak berry]. All Ojibwe
encountered told of their former dependence upon acorns for their soup
stock. It seems that at least every Algonkian tribe knew and used all
species of acorns. They got rid of the bitter tannin taste by soaking
the acorns in hot lye. Wood ashes in water, when boiled gave them the
lye. A regular woven bark bag held a quantity of acorns and the lye
was leached out by washing the whole bagful in several changes of warm
water. The acorns were then dried for storage, and when wanted, pounded
and ground to a coarse flour which was used to thicken soups or form a
sort of mush. Blueberries were often cooked with this mush to give it
a good flavor and it was seasoned with maple sugar. White Oak acorns
needed no lye treatment.
=Bur Oak= (_Quercus macrocarpa_ Michx.), “mîtîgoˈ mîc” [wooden tree].
Bur Oak acorns are bitter, but yield to the lye treatment to become as
edible as the acorns of the White Oak.
=Red Oak= (_Quercus rubra_ L.), “mîtîgoˈ mîc” [wooden tree]. Because
Red Oak was so abundant in the Ojibwe territory and so large in size,
the acorns were one of their most important starchy foods. They leached
the tannic acid flavor with lye and brought them to a par with the
sweet acorns of White Oak.
=Black Oak= (_Quercus velutina_ Lam.) “têˈ komîn”. The name is
evidently an abbreviation of “mêtîgoˈ mîn”, but probably an intentional
one for this tree was always referred to by the abbreviation. Its
acorns were equally good as others when the tannin was extracted.
FUNGI
The writer found that none of the Ojibwe eat any of the mushrooms
although they have two names for them,—“pîkwaˈ djîc” and “wajackweˈ do”
[muskrat]. Probably some remote ancestor had a fatal experience with
mushrooms and the news has been handed down. Although the Ojibwe have
fanciful stories explaining why they use certain plants, no doubt their
knowledge came by a process of trial and error through the centuries
and the errors have been duly buried but not entirely forgotten.
GRAMINAE (GRASS FAMILY)
=Corn= (_Zea mays_ L.), “mandaˈ mîn”. Corn is a traditional heritage of
the Ojibwe, although none knew a time when they did not have it. Their
origin myth is that it was a pinch of flesh taken from the side of
their culture hero, Winabojo, by himself and cast upon the ground, to
grow and become corn for them. This is the same as acknowledging that
they do not know how it came to be here. When mandamin matures, they
say that only horses can eat it raw in that condition. They have to
soak it in lye water, wash out the lye and then parboil it to prepare
it for the table. This is the same as our hominy. Scientists think now
that corn originated in Mexico from an accidental crossing of teosinte
and gama grass. While the Ojibwe cultivate and grow the approved
strains of corn for Wisconsin, they also cling to their own “calico”
corn, with all sorts of colors of grains on different cobs. They have
two names for sweet corn,—“wîckobiˈ mandaˈmîn” [sweet maize], and
“wîckobiˈ sîˈganûg” [turns sweet in cooking]. Their sweet or soft corns
are different from those used by the white man. They roast the ears in
the husk and make it into hominy as the white man does. They cut the
kernels from their sweet corn and dry them for winter use. It is also
boiled in a kettle, and when half-cooked, is cut from the cob and dried
for winter use.
They had a name for popcorn, but the writer saw none of it while around
them.
=Wild Rice= (_Zizania palustris_ L.), “manoˈ mîn” [good berry]. The
Ojibwe word is their pronunciation of the Menomini term for wild rice.
Most Algonkians have the same word for wild rice and it forms a very
important part of their food. The writer has often been present at the
Ojibwe rice harvests. The largest operation seen was that of the Ojibwe
at Mole Lake in Forest County, Wisconsin. There about twenty families
were working at one time and the writer worked at each operation to
become familiar with it. Wild rice preparation is the hardest kind of
labor, and they earn all they get for it when they sell it. It sells
in Milwaukee for $1.05 a pound, but one can buy it from the Indians at
$.25 to $.35 a pound. One man reaped 1325 pounds of rice in the harvest
time. The Menomini Rice Harvest group in the Public Museum exhibition
halls, shows very well most features of the operation.
Various families have definite parts of the lake for their share,
while others travel to small lakes and stay there until the harvest is
complete. They set up a family camp, while the grain is still in the
milk stage and wait for it to ripen. When this time arrives, having
made experimental collections to determine it, they make a ceremonial
gathering. Three to a canoe, two women and a man go to the rice beds
and gather sufficient rice for a preliminary feast. With a hooked
stick, held in a crescent by a string, the women pull the rice over
the canoe and beat off the kernels with a stick, into the canoe bed.
Sometimes, when the Indians do not want to waste any of the rice, they
will go into the beds before it is ripe and tie several heads together
to ripen in that manner. The first collection is prepared complete,
with songs to their deities and a ceremonial feast is observed. After
that all hands fall to in earnest and gather unremittingly until all
the rice is harvested.
When the canoe is partly loaded, they pole back to camp, to prepare
it. Wild rice grows in a mucky soil which may be quite deep. Ten foot
poles, with a wide fork to secure a hold on the grass, are used to
propel the canoe through the rice. On the return trip when loaded, the
women trample the rice to break off the spiny beards or awns. The next
step is roasting or parching. A wash tub is tilted against a large back
log and a fire maintained under it. To keep the rice from burning, one
must use a forty inch paddle and stir constantly for about three hours.
The roasting destroys any weevils that might be present, gives the rice
a pleasant flavor, loosens the husks or glumes and hardens the rice so
it may be kept indefinitely.
In earlier times, a hole was dug into the ground and carefully lined
with buckskin. Nowadays a candy bucket is sunk into the hole. This is
the threshing floor. A man with new moccasins steps in to trample and
thresh it.[138] He has a couple of poles, slanting near the hole, and
supported on a tree with which he balances, while trampling the rice.
He gives a circular, twisting pressure to the rice with his feet to
grind off the husks. Then the chaff is winnowed away by a woman as
shown in the present series, Vol. IV, plate 29, fig. 2. A large shallow
birchbark tray is shaken up and down by the woman as she stands in
a breeze. If there is no wind, the chaff accumulates on top and is
pushed over the edge from time to time. After the winnowing, the rice
is washed to clean it of foreign matter and of the smoky flavor of
parching. It is then dried and ready to use or store. Wild rice swells
more than cultivated rice in cooking. It is often moistened with six
times its bulk in water. The kernels are about six times as long as
thick and in cooking the ends curl backward to meet in the center, thus
differing from _Oryza sativa_, the white man’s rice. The proper way to
cook it Indian fashion is with deer broth and season with maple sugar.
Wild rice cooked with wild fowl takes away the muddy or wild taste and
is highly prized by those whites who know its qualities.
HYDROPHYLLACEAE (WATERLEAF FAMILY)
=Virginia Waterleaf= (_Hydrophyllum virginianum_ L.),
“nebîneˈnanikweˈîag”[139] [having hair on only one side]. The Pillager
Ojibwe use the root as a feed for ponies to make them fatten rapidly.
JUGLANDACEAE (WALNUT FAMILY)
=Shell-bark Hickory= (_Carya ovata_ [Mill.] K. Koch.), “bagaˈ nakoˈ
bagan”. Hickory trees are scarce in the north, but the Ojibwe
appreciate the edible nuts.
=Butternut= (_Juglans cinerea_ L.), “bagaˈ nag”. Butternut is plentiful
in the north and in most Ojibwe territory, while the Black Walnut is
not to be found. They use the nuts for food and the hulls for dye.
LABIATAE (MINT FAMILY)
=Wild Mint= (_Mentha arvensis_ L. var. _canadensis_ [L.] Briquet.)
“andegoˈ bîgons” [little crow leaf].[140] The Pillager Ojibwe use the
foliage to make a beverage tea.
=Catnip= (_Nepeta cataria_ L.), “tciˈ nameˈwûck” [big sturgeon leaf].
Catnip leaves are used by the Flambeau Ojibwe in making a beverage tea.
LEGUMINOSAE (PULSE FAMILY)
=Hog Peanut= (_Amphicarpa pitcheri_ T. & G.), “bûgwaˈ dj mîskodiˈ
sîmîn” [unusual red bean]. The Pillager Ojibwe cook the beans and are
very fond of the unusual flavor imparted to their cooking in this way.
They also cook the roots, although they are really too small to be
considered of much importance.
=Creamy Vetchling= (_Lathyrus ochroleucus_ Hook.), “bûgwaˈdj pînik”
[unusual potato]. The Pillager Ojibwe use the root of this plant as a
sort of Indian potato, and store it in deep pits in the garden, as they
do their regular potatoes.
=Navy Bean= (_Phaseolus vulgaris_ L.), “wabeniˈmînesa” [little white
berry]. The Ojibwe claim to have always had the sort of beans that the
white man uses and while their original Navy Bean is not exactly like
that of the white man, still it is near enough to be confused with it.
=Lima Bean= (_Phaseolus lunatus macrocarpus_),“wabeniˈ mîna” [big white
berry]. The Ojibwe also claim to have originally had the Lima Bean, but
that is doubtful.
=Cranberry Pole Bean= (_Phaseolus vulgaris_ L.), “mêskodiˈ mînûn” [red
heart berry]. The Red Cranberry Pole Bean is the original source of all
our best commercial pole beans. The Indians cultivated it in aboriginal
times. They use it alone or in many peculiar combinations.
LICHENS
Tree Lichen (_Sticta glomulifera_), “jîngwakons wakun” [little white
pine and row of eggs] or “jîngwaˈkwak” [pine egg]. On the bark at the
base of an old White Pine, will be found lichens growing from the
ground to a height of perhaps three feet. The Ojibwe gather these and
boil them until they coagulate or “come together” like scrambled eggs.
They say that they taste like eggs “wawîn”, but they call them “wakûn”,
which is a term applied to the roe or eggs of a fish. It is a favorite
dish and a very ancient one.
LILIACEAE (LILY FAMILY)
=Wild Onion= (_Allium cernuum_ Roth.), “cîgagaˈ wûnj” [skunk plant].
Both Pillager and Flambeau Ojibwe like the Wild Onion and Wild Leek in
the spring as an article of food.
=Wild Leek= (_Allium tricoccum_ Ait.), “bûgwaˈ djijîcaˈ gowûnj”
[unusual onion] “jîcago” really means skunk, and from this word Chicago
was named. This is the larger wild onion and is known as Winabojo’s
onion, or the one he pointed out for food. It is gathered in the
spring when it is round and plumper than in the fall. It is also
gathered and dried for future use. The Wild Leek is somewhat bitter,
while the smaller wild onion is sweet.
=False Spikenard= (_Smilacina racemosa_ [L.] Desf.), “agoñgosiˈ wîdjiˈ
bîk” [chipmunk root]. The Pillager Ojibwe use this root added to oats
to make a pony grow fat. The Flambeau Ojibwe also prepare and eat the
False Spikenard root. It is soaked in lye water and parboiled to get
rid of the lye, then cooked like potatoes.
NYMPHAEACEAE (WATER LILY FAMILY)
=Sweet White Water Lily= (_Castalia odorata_ [Ait.] Woodville & Wood),
“odîteˈabûg wabîˈgwûn” [flat heart-shaped leaf, white flowered]. The
Flambeau Ojibwe eat the buds of this water lily before they open.
=Yellow Lotus= (_Nelumbo lutea_ (Willd.) Pers.), “wesawasaˈ kwuneˈk
odîteˈabûg” [yellow light, flat heart-shaped leaf].[141] Most of the
Wisconsin Ojibwe know about this favored wild potato; and also use the
hard chestnut-like seeds to roast and make into a sweet meal. They cut
off the terminal shoots, at either end of the underground creeping
rootstock and the remainder is their potato. These shoots are similar
in shape and size to a banana, and form the starchy storage reservoirs
for future growth. They have pores inside, but have more substance to
them than the stems. They are cut crosswise and strung upon basswood
strings, to hang from the rafters for winter use. They are soaked when
needed and then cooked with venison, corn or beans.
OLEACEAE (OLIVE FAMILY)
=Red Ash= (_Fraxinus pennsylvanica_ Marsh.) “aˈgîmak” [snow-shoe wood].
The cambium layer of the ash is scraped down in long, fluffy layers and
cooked. It is called “sagîmaˈ kwûn”, which incorporates the name of the
ash with “wûn” or eggs. They say it tastes like eggs. Many other trees
are given the same sort of treatment for food purposes.
PINACEAE (PINE FAMILY)
=White Pine= (_Pinus strobus_ L.), “jîngwaˈ k”. In the spring the
Ojibwe use the young staminate catkins of the pine to cook for food.
It is stewed with meat. One might think this would taste rather like
pitch, but they assured the writer that it was sweet and had no pitchy
flavor.
=Hemlock= (_Tsuga canadensis_ [L.] Carr.), “gagagiˈ wîc”. The Flambeau
Ojibwe use the leaves of Hemlock to make a beverage tea. This sort
of tea is oftentimes used by the Indian Medicine man to carry his
medicaments and disguise the fact that the patient is taking medicine.
POLYPODIACEAE (FERN FAMILY)
=Brake= (_Pteris aquilina_ L.), “ana ˈganûck” [general fern name]. The
Flambeau Ojibwe are fond of young fern sprouts as a soup material. The
young fern tips, with coiled fronds, are about like asparagus tips,
only not stringy with fibrovascular bundles like asparagus. The tips
are thrown into hot water for an hour to rid them of ants, then put
into soup stock and thickened with flour. The flavor resembles wild
rice. Hunters are very careful to live wholly upon this when stalking
does in the spring. The doe feeds upon the fronds and the hunter does
also, so that his breath does not betray his presence. He claims to be
able to approach within twenty feet without disturbing the deer, from
which distance he can easily make a fatal shot with his bow and arrow.
After killing the deer, the hunter will eat whatever strikes his fancy.
RANUNCULACEAE (CROWFOOT FAMILY)
=Marsh Marigold= (_Caltha palustris_ L.), “o ˈgîteˈ bûg”. The Flambeau
Ojibwe use the leaves as a green to cook with pork in the springtime.
ROSACEAE (ROSE FAMILY)
=Smooth Juneberry= (_Amelanchier laevis_ Wiegand), “gozîgagoˈ mînûn”
[thorny berry]. According to John Whitefeather, Flambeau Ojibwe,
this is the name of the Juneberry, while Charley Burns on the same
reservation called it “bîsegaˈ gwomîn”. Both knew it only as a food,
although some tribes use the bark as a medicine. Juneberries were also
dried for winter use, the Indians often preferring them to blueberries.
The Pillager Ojibwe also use them as a food and use the bark as a
medicine.
=Red Haw Apple= (_Crataegus_ sp.), “mînesagaˈ wûnj”. The Pillager
Ojibwe use the haw apples as a food in the fall of the year.
=Wild Strawberry= (_Fragaria virginiana_ Duchesne), “odeˈ imîn” [heart
berry]. Both Flambeau and Pillager Ojibwe have the same name for the
Wild Strawberry, and call it the heart berry from its shape and color.
They are very fond of it in season and make preserves of it for winter
use.
=Wild Plum= (_Prunus nigra_ Ait.), “bûgeˈ sanatîg”. The Pillager Ojibwe
find quantities of the Wild Plum in thickets and gather it for food and
for preserves.
=Pin Cherry= (_Prunus pennsylvanica_ L.f.), “baeˈ wimînûn”. The Pin
Cherry is abundant around the Flambeau Reservation and the Ojibwe are
fond of it. It is an education in itself to see a group of Ojibwe women
working on mats with a supply of fruit laden branches beside them.
With one hand they will start a stream of berries into the mouth and
the stream of cherry stones ejected from the other corner of the mouth
seems ceaseless. The Pillager Ojibwe also have the tree and use it in
the same manner.
=Sand Cherry= (_Prunus pumila_ L.), “sewaˈkomîn”. The Flambeau Ojibwe
find plenty of this species on sandy openings in the forest, and gather
the fruit for food.
=Wild Cherry= (_Prunus serotina_ Ehrh.), “okweˈ mîn” [worm from egg
of a fly]. The Flambeau Ojibwe prefer this cherry to all other wild
cherries, and dry it for winter use. Some of them also make whiskey
from the ripe cherries.
=Choke Cherry= (_Prunus virginiana_ L.), “saweˈ mîn”. Although the
fruit of this cherry is sufficiently acrid to be unsatisfactory to the
whites as a food, the Pillager Ojibwe like it, especially after the
fruit has been frosted.
=High Bush Blackberry= (_Rubus allegheniensis_ Porter), “odatagaˈ
gomîc” [blackberry stem].[142] The Flambeau Ojibwe relish the
Blackberry and also the Dewberry (_Rubus villosus_ Ait.) although we
found no specimen nor distinctive name for it. They make a jam of the
berries for winter use.
=Red Raspberry= (_Rubus idaeus_ L. var. _aculaetissimus_ [C. A. Mey.]
Regel & Tiling) “meskwaˈ mîn” [red berry]. This is a favorite fresh
fruit of the Flambeau Ojibwe and is also used for making jams for
winter use.
SALICACEAE (WILLOW FAMILY)
=Large-toothed Aspen= (_Populus grandidentata_ Michx.), “asadiˈ”
[bitter bark]. The Ojibwe scrape the cambium layer to obtain a food
which is boiled and is something like eggs. They also scrape the
cambium of several other trees for food.
SAXIFRAGACEAE (SAXIFRAGE FAMILY)
=Prickly Gooseberry= (_Ribes cynosbati_ L.), “meˈ skwacaboˈ mînûk” [red
berries with thorns]. The Flambeau Ojibwe relish these berries when
ripe and make them into preserves for winter use.
=Wild Black Currant= (_Ribes americanum_ Mill.), “amîˈkomîn” [beaver
berries], shown in plate 70, fig. 1. The Pillager Ojibwe eat these
berries fresh, in jams, and preserves and dry them for winter. In the
winter, a favorite dish is wild currants cooked with sweet corn. The
Flambeau Indians use them in a like manner, but call them “kagagîtciˈ
mîn” [raven berries].
=Wild Red Currant= (_Ribes triste_ Pall.), “mîcitciˈ mînûk”. The
Flambeau Ojibwe gather these currants and use them as they do the Wild
Black Currants.
=Smooth Gooseberry= (_Ribes oxyacanthoides_ L.), “caboˈ mînûk” [smooth
berry]. The Flambeau Ojibwe gather this berry for fresh food, and also
make it into preserves for winter use. It is often cooked with sweet
corn.
SOLANACEAE (NIGHTSHADE FAMILY)
=Ojibwe Potato= (_Solanum tuberosum_ L.), “opîn” [potato].[143] The
Ojibwe have cultivated this early potato, according to their traditions
since aboriginal times, and it surely looks primitive enough. It is
round in circumference, about two or three inches long, has purplish
flesh, and never cooks to a mealy consistency. It is much prized for
soups and is always firm and crisp when cooked. White Cloud’s potato
patch on Bear Island, Leech Lake, Minnesota, is shown in plate 58, fig.
1.
URTICACEAE (NETTLE FAMILY)
=Hop= (_Humulus lupulus_ L.) “jiˈwîciniˈ goniˈ bûg”. The Pillager
Ojibwe often use the hop fruit as a substitute for baking soda.
VITACEAE (VINE FAMILY)
=Virginia Creeper= (_Psedera quinquefolia_ [L.] Greene), “manîdoˈ
bimakwît” [spirit twisted]. The Pillager Ojibwe say that the root of
this vine was cooked and eaten a long time ago by their people and that
it had been given as a special food by Winabojo.
=River-bank Grape= (_Vitis vulpina_ L.), “cîˈ wimînûn”. The Pillager
Ojibwe use these grapes after they have been frosted, and make them
into jelly for winter use.
OJIBWE VEGETAL FIBERS
The Ojibwe Indians have always been far removed from the beaten paths
of the white men, and for this reason make good use of their native
plant materials. Oft times, it seems to the white man that they bestow
considerable labor, upon making cord, string, mats, baskets and similar
articles that might as easily be purchased at a store. But money is not
plentiful, and many of the things that can be purchased have inferior
lasting qualities. Disgust for a poor substitute, pride in their own
resourcefulness, and the habit of centuries has kept them constantly
proving that they are the master of their environment and continuing to
make their products in the good old Ojibwe way.
Outside of yarn sashes, they have not woven textiles for a long time.
Perhaps the last of their textile work is in storage bags made from
nettle fiber or basswood string. Cedar bark fiber was used long ago for
some coarse textiles but not within the past century.