The Ojibwe have always lived far from the haunts of civilization. They were too far in the back country to participate in the colonial and pre-colonial wars. They have always preferred to live where game is abundant, and even today they are still able to subsist partly on deer and fish. The products of the hunt were very important to them, and they possess a very large number of hunting charms, which are roots, seeds or blossoms that are used as good luck omens or actual lures in trapping and fishing.
They have always made the greatest use of the edible plants of their environment, but did not progress very far in an agricultural way until the last quarter century, when each reservation was furnished with an Indian or white farmer, preferably an Indian. He has used the school children to cultivate demonstration farms, and his example is persisting in some of his former pupils. The older people had a few simple products from prehistoric days and have not allowed them to completely run out. The garden patch was always small, and the caretaker was invariably the woman of the household. Among the cultivated crops were: Cranberry pole beans, maize or Indian corn, potatoes of an early variety, squash and tobacco. The last crop has not been grown by them in fifty years, as they now depend upon the white men for their source of supply. At the present time, they raise any of the crops, that the white men raise. In their gardens, one will find lettuce and onions, radishes, carrots, parsnips, beets, turnips, cabbage, potatoes of standard varieties, beans and peas, and any other crop one will find in an up-to-date garden. Stranger still, one may find garden flowers, and the lady of the house will be quite proud of them, and usually a little jealous, if her neighbor has some flowers that she has not.
Some of the wild crops they gather possess considerable commercial value, such as blueberries and wild rice. The laborious work of preparing wild rice for table use has boosted the price to $1.05 a pound, which those “in the know” gladly pay. Blueberries yield a goodly part of their cash income, for the berries usually sell for about twenty cents a quart, and it is easy for an Indian family to pick eighty quarts in a day. They do not pick them like the white man does, but comb the bushes with their fingers, removing the leaves and twigs later.
The Ojibwe are fond of their native foods, and since they regard all plants as the gift of their deities, and sacred to their uses, they feel that their native foods are medicine to keep them in health as well as foods. While they know nothing about vitamins or chemical constituents, they think that there are some salts or minerals in their native foods that keep them well. We know that they are correct in that. They ascribe many of their present diseases to the abandonment of their native foods and the adoption of white men’s foods. They think that the early failure of their teeth is due to using too much white flour for bread.
From the middle of July to the middle of September, one will find the women busily caring for the various food harvests. Maize will be drying on cloth screens, and blueberries will be drying to tough, inky pellets. Raspberries and dewberries are cooked into jams, cranberries are cooked with maple sugar into a jelly, and circles of squash are strung on a basswood bark string. Men and women are busy at the shallow lake harvesting wild rice, and all are very active. Sundays they will stop for a pow-wow or dream dance, but not if it is the wild rice harvest time. The food plants are listed alphabetically by families.
OJIBWE FOOD PLANTS
ACERACEAE (MAPLE FAMILY)
Box Elder (Acer negundo L.), “adjagobi' mÛk”. The Pillager Ojibwe collect the sap of the Box Elder and mix it with the sap of the regular Sugar Maple to drink as a beverage.
Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), “Înena' tÎg” [Indian tree] and “adjagobi' mÎn”. Both names came from the Pillager Ojibwe,[127] and although the trees were scarce on the Flambeau Reservation, they also call it “Înena' tÎg”, and gather quantities of the sap somewhere south of the reservation. Maple sugar is one of their most important foods and is used in almost every kind of cookery. Maple sap is saved to drink as it comes from the tree, sometimes with the added sap of the Box Elder or Yellow Birch. Again it is allowed to become sour to make a vinegar “cÎwa'bo” used in their cookery of venison, which, when afterwards sweetened with maple sugar, corresponds to the German fashion of sweet-sour meat. Before they had the salt of the white man, maple sugar took its place and still does when they can get it. All kinds of meats were seasoned with it. There are many interesting legends about the tree, its discovery and sugar making, as related in Mr. Alanson Skinner’s “Material Culture of the Menomini”.[128] The Ojibwe garner their sugar crop much the same way as they did years ago, except that they have used large iron kettles since the coming of the white man. The sugar camps are rather permanent affairs, and the framework of the boiling house with its upright poles around the fire place to hold the kettles is left intact. A bark-covered wigwam is used to store the tools of sugar sap gathering, and granulation. Most of the sap vessels and storage vessels are made of birch bark, sewed with boiled basswood fiber or the core of the Jack Pine root. The vessels are rendered waterproof by the application of pitch secured by boiling Jack Pine cones.
In early April, the Ojibwe visit their camps, the men to repair the camps and the storage vats of hollowed logs, and to cut fire wood, the women to see that the sap buckets and mokoks are scrupulously clean and watertight. If some can not be repaired, rolls of birchbark are there to make new ones. The whole family then move to the camp and live in the large wigwam, while they make sugar for a month. During the sap flow, a man can chop holes and set taps into from two to three hundred trees in a day. The first flow of sap is the best, and it gets to be of a rather poor quality by the end of the flow. The Ojibwe will not use the night flow of the sap, which they say is bitter, so they cease collecting an hour before dark. Gathered sap is stored in hollowed basswood log vats, and covered over with birch bark to keep it clean. Boiling in the iron kettles is done much as the white man does it, except that foam is dissipated by stirring with a fresh brush of a spruce branch. The syrup is strained through a cloth and recooked in two or three quart quantities until it is ready to sugar. Then, while still warm, it is poured into a wooden trough, where it is pounded and crushed with a heavy wooden paddle as it hardens. It is stored in covered birch bark baskets called mokoks, of from twenty-five to seventy-five pounds capacity. The sugar is graded according to its whiteness and stored away. Sap is often added to the dregs in the kettles and a second grade sugar is secured. To waste or spill any of the sap is considered an affront to their deities, who punish such an act by causing the sugar to shrink after it is made.
ALISMACEAE (WATER-PLANTAIN FAMILY)
Arum-leaved Arrowhead (Sagittaria arifolia Nutt.) “wabasi' pÎn” [white potato].[129] Both the Flambeau and the Pillager Ojibwe call this by the same name and use it exactly alike as far as its food value is concerned. The Pillager Ojibwe also use it as a medicine for man and horse. The Flambeau Ojibwe recognize that it is also a favorite food of ducks and geese. A similar species found in California is used by the Indians there as a potato under the name “wappate” or “wapatoo”, and is called by the whites there “Tule root.”[130] The corms are a most valued food source to the Ojibwe. They will dig them if they cannot get them more easily. Muskrat and beavers store them in large caches, which the Indians have learned to recognize and appropriate. It is difficult to dig them out still attached to the plant, because the connection between the roots and the corm is so fragile and small. The round corms are attached by a tiny rootlet to the main mass of fibrous roots, and are capable of reproducing the plant in a vegetative manner, just as the Irish Potato does. They are from one-half to an inch and a half in diameter and about three-quarters to two inches long. They are pure white inside, sweet and quite starchy. The Indian does not differentiate between this species and the Broad-leaved Arrowhead. For winter use, the potato is boiled, then sliced and strung on a piece of basswood bark fiber and hung up overhead for storage. They also use the fresh corms, cooking them with deer meat, and maple sugar. Some of the potatoes are kept over after cooking and the maple sugar is thickened until they might almost be called candied sweet potatoes.
ANACARDIACEAE (SUMAC FAMILY)
Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra L.), “bakwa' nak” [binding tree]. The Flambeau Ojibwe gather the berries to make a pleasant beverage much like lemonade. The berries are tart and are sweetened with maple sugar, soaked in water until required for use. They also gather and dry them for winter use. The dried berries are cooked in water with maple sugar, and form a hot drink, instead of a cooling one, as used in the summer and fall.
Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina L.), “bakwa' natÎg” [binding tree].[131] The Pillager Ojibwe use the berries in the same way as the Flambeau Ojibwe use this species, and under the same name. They also store up the dried seed heads for winter use.
ARISTOLOCHIACEAE (BIRTHWORT FAMILY)
Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense L. var. acuminatum Ashe), “name' pÎn”, [sturgeon potato].[132] The Pillager Ojibwe often use this root in cookery to season the food. They claim it takes away any muddy taste from fish, and will render any meat dish digestible by anyone, even if they are sick. The roots are processed in lye water for cookery on a large scale.
ASCLEPIADACEAE (MILKWEED FAMILY)
Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.), “cabo' sÎkÛn” [milk], “ÎnÎniwÛnj” [indian plant] Flambeau name.[133] The Pillager Ojibwe eat the fresh flowers and tips of the shoots in soups. They are usually cooked with some kind of meat and become somewhat mucilaginous like okra, when cooked. They also gather and dry the flowers for refreshening in the winter time, to make into soup.
BETULACEAE (BIRCH FAMILY)
Yellow Birch (Betula lutea Michx. f.), “wi'nÎsÎk”. The Flambeau and Couderay Ojibwe tap the Yellow Birch for sap to add to maple sap for a pleasant beverage drink.
Hazelnut (Corylus americana Walt.), “mÛkwobaga' nak” [bear nut].[134] The Flambeau Indians use the hazel nut as a food and are especially fond of the newly gathered nuts before the kernel has hardened. The name is often shortened to “baga' nak”.
Beaked Hazelnut (Corylus rostrata Ait.), “ba' gana' mÎc” [nut tree]. The Pillager Ojibwe also use the Beaked Hazelnut. The Flambeau Ojibwe also recognize it as “baga' nak” [nut] and use it as a food.
CAPRIFOLIACEAE (HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY)
Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago L.), “atÎte' tamÎn”.[135] The berries are eaten when ripe, fresh from the bush, and are also used in jam with wild grapes.
CELASTRACEAE (STAFF TREE FAMILY)
Climbing Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens L.), “manÎdobÎma' kwÎt” [spirit twisted].[136] The Pillager Ojibwe story of this plant is practically the same as that of the Menomini, as given in Museum bulletin Vol. IV, No. 1, pp. 63-64. Bittersweet is fairly abundant around Leech Lake, and is found in dense hardwood forests climbing to tops of trees thirty feet or more in height. When food is unobtainable in the winter, because the snow is too deep and game is scarce, the Ojibwe gather this bark and separate the inner bark to make a thick soup for a meal. While it is not so very palatable, it is sustaining and they may subsist on it for a considerable time, until they are able to get some game, or to go to some relatives and get other foodstuffs. The Ojibwe name refers as does the Menomini name, to the twisted intestines of their cultural hero, Winabojo.
COMPOSITAE (COMPOSITE FAMILY)
Large-leaved Aster (Aster macrophyllus L.), “mÊgÊsi' bÛg”, [eagle leaf]. The leaves of this aster are eaten when young and tender. The Flambeau Ojibwe declare that they are fine-flavored and good to eat, because they act as medicine at the same time that they are food. Among the Pillager Ojibwe they use the root of this same aster as a soup material, but call it “nÊmÊgosi' bÛg” [trout leaf].
Philadelphia Fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus L.), “micao gacan” [odor of split hoof of doe]. The Pillager Ojibwe say that deer and cows eat this plant and that they use it in their smoking tobacco or kinnikinnik mixture.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale Weber) “weca' waskwÛne' k” [yellow light]. The Flambeau Ojibwe gather the young leaves in the spring and cook them with pork or venison for greens, using vinegar made from soured maple sap.
CORNACEAE (DOGWOOD FAMILY)
Panicled Dogwood (Cornus paniculata L’Her.) “meskwabi' mÎc” [red bush]. The Flambeau Ojibwe use this bark in their kinnikinnik or native smoking tobacco. Sometimes real tobacco is mixed with it and sometimes not, as real tobacco is expensive. The twig bark is peeled and toasted over coals on a crude drying fork, then further shredded to carry in their tobacco pouches and smoke in their pipes.
CRUCIFERAE (MUSTARD FAMILY)
Large Toothwort (Dentaria maxima Nutt.), “mÛkwopÎni'k” [bear potato]. The rootstocks of this cress are very abundant in wet, springy ground in the forest. The white man can only identify this plant in the spring of the year when the flower and leaf are found, but the Ojibwe knows the root and where it grows so gathers it when it has matured. It is a favored wild potato, but has a very pungent acrid taste when freshly dug. They heap the mass of cleaned roots upon a blanket and cover it closely to exclude the air for four or five days. During this time the roots ferment and lose the acrid taste, becoming sweet and palatable. The Ojibwe cook them with corn and deer meat, or with beans and deer meat, and say that, besides being a fine food, they are a good medicine for the stomach.
CUCURBITACEAE (GOURD FAMILY)
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), “ecka'damÎn” [its name]. The Ojibwe use their cucumbers raw, but sometimes flavor them with a vinegar “cÎwa'bo” made from souring maple sap. They are further flavored with powdered maple sugar.
Ojibwe Squash (Cucurbita maxima Duchesne), “ogwÎ'ssi maun owaso kwone'k” [pumpkin, yellow light]. Their word “ogwissimaun” literally means “tangled hairs”, and refers to the strings inside upon which the seeds are borne. The Flambeau Ojibwe cultivate their own variety of squash, although they say that they got it originally from the Iroquois. They dry rings of squash for winter use.
Large Pie Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.), “missa' bÎgon” [little giant 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.), “jica'wÎgan” [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.), “gÎji' 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.), “bÎne' 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.), “wabackÎki' 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,—“macki' gobÛgons” [little swamp leaf].
Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens L.), “wÎnÎsi' 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 “owÎnÎsi' mÎn”.
Labrador Tea (Ledum groenlandicum Oeder.), “waboskÎki' 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.), “mÛcki' 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, “mÛckÎtci' 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”,—“mÛcki' gimÎnÛn backi' mÎnasÎgÛn wiwegida'sÎgÛn”.
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 “gimÎne'sÎt” while the low Black Blueberry (V. nigrum [Wood] Britton) is called “makate' 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.) “gawe'mÎc”. 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.), “mÎci' 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.), “mÎtÎgo' 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.), “mÎtÎgo' 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.) “tÊ' komÎn”. The name is evidently an abbreviation of “mÊtÎgo' 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,—“pÎkwa' djÎc” and “wajackwe' 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.), “manda' 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,—“wÎckobi' manda'mÎn” [sweet maize], and “wÎckobi' sÎ'ganÛg” [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.), “mano' 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.), “nebÎne'nanikwe'Îag”[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.), “baga' nako' bagan”. Hickory trees are scarce in the north, but the Ojibwe appreciate the edible nuts.
Butternut (Juglans cinerea L.), “baga' 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.) “andego' bÎgons” [little crow leaf].[140] The Pillager Ojibwe use the foliage to make a beverage tea.
Catnip (Nepeta cataria L.), “tci' name'wÛck” [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.), “bÛgwa' dj mÎskodi' 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.), “bÛgwa'dj 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.), “wabeni'mÎnesa” [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),“wabeni' 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.), “mÊskodi' 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 “jÎngwa'kwak” [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.), “cÎgaga' 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.), “bÛgwa' djijÎca' 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.), “agoÑgosi' wÎdji' 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), “odÎte'abÛg wabÎ'gwÛn” [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.), “wesawasa' kwune'k odÎte'abÛg” [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.) “a'gÎmak” [snow-shoe wood]. The cambium layer of the ash is scraped down in long, fluffy layers and cooked. It is called “sagÎma' 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.), “jÎngwa' 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.), “gagagi' 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 'ganÛck” [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 'gÎte' 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), “gozÎgago' 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 “bÎsega' 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.), “mÎnesaga' wÛnj”. The Pillager Ojibwe use the haw apples as a food in the fall of the year.
Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana Duchesne), “ode' 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.), “bÛge' 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.), “bae' 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.), “sewa'komÎn”. 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.), “okwe' 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.), “sawe' 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), “odataga' 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) “meskwa' 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.), “asadi'” [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.), “me' skwacabo' 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.), “amÎ'komÎn” [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 “kagagÎtci' mÎn” [raven berries].
Wild Red Currant (Ribes triste Pall.), “mÎcitci' mÎnÛk”. The Flambeau Ojibwe gather these currants and use them as they do the Wild Black Currants.
Smooth Gooseberry (Ribes oxyacanthoides L.), “cabo' 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.) “ji'wÎcini' goni' bÛg”. The Pillager Ojibwe often use the hop fruit as a substitute for baking soda.
VITACEAE (VINE FAMILY)
Virginia Creeper (Psedera quinquefolia [L.] Greene), “manÎdo' 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.), “cÎ' wimÎnÛn”. The Pillager Ojibwe use these grapes after they have been frosted, and make them into jelly for winter use.
