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How Indians Use Wild Plants for Food, Medicine and Crafts
"Learn the natural ways of the Chippewa Indians with this great book from Dover." — Texas Kitchen and Garden and More
The uses of plants — for food, for medicine, for arts, crafts, and dyeing — among the Chippewa Indians of Minnesota and Wisconsin show the great extent to which they understood and utilized natural resources. In this book those traditions are captured, providing a wealth of new material for those interested in natural food, natural cures, and native crafts.
In separate sections describing the major areas of use, Miss Densmore, an ethnologist with the Smithsonian Institution, details the uses of nearly 200 plants with emphasis on wild plants and lesser-known uses. For those interested in natural foods she gives extensive coverage to the gathering and preparation of maple sugar and wild rice, as well as preparations for beverages from leaves and twigs of common plants, seasonings including mint and bearberry, the methods of preparing wild rice and corn, cultivated and wild vegetables, and wild fruits and berries. On Indian medicines she tells the basic methods of gathering plants and the basic surgical and medical methods. Then she gives a complete list of the plants with their botanical names, uses, parts used, preparation and administration, and other notes and references. Also covered are plants used as charms, plants used in natural dyes, and plants in the useful and decorative arts including uses for household items, toys, mats, twine, baskets, bows, and tools, with special emphasis on the uses of birch bark and cedar. This section will be especially useful for supplying new and unusual craft ideas. In addition, 36 plates show the many stages of plant gathering and preparation and many of the artistic uses. While a number of the plants discussed are native only to the Great Lakes region, many are found throughout a wide range.
Those studying the Indians of the Great Lakes region, or those trying to get back to nature through understanding and using natural materials, will find much about the use of plants in all areas of community life. Because of Miss Densmore’s deep knowledge and clear presentation, her study remains a rich and useful source for learning about or using native foods, native cures, and native crafts.
The uses of plants — for food, for medicine, for arts, crafts, and dyeing — among the Chippewa Indians of Minnesota and Wisconsin show the great extent to which they understood and utilized natural resources. In this book those traditions are captured, providing a wealth of new material for those interested in natural food, natural cures, and native crafts.
In separate sections describing the major areas of use, Miss Densmore, an ethnologist with the Smithsonian Institution, details the uses of nearly 200 plants with emphasis on wild plants and lesser-known uses. For those interested in natural foods she gives extensive coverage to the gathering and preparation of maple sugar and wild rice, as well as preparations for beverages from leaves and twigs of common plants, seasonings including mint and bearberry, the methods of preparing wild rice and corn, cultivated and wild vegetables, and wild fruits and berries. On Indian medicines she tells the basic methods of gathering plants and the basic surgical and medical methods. Then she gives a complete list of the plants with their botanical names, uses, parts used, preparation and administration, and other notes and references. Also covered are plants used as charms, plants used in natural dyes, and plants in the useful and decorative arts including uses for household items, toys, mats, twine, baskets, bows, and tools, with special emphasis on the uses of birch bark and cedar. This section will be especially useful for supplying new and unusual craft ideas. In addition, 36 plates show the many stages of plant gathering and preparation and many of the artistic uses. While a number of the plants discussed are native only to the Great Lakes region, many are found throughout a wide range.
Those studying the Indians of the Great Lakes region, or those trying to get back to nature through understanding and using natural materials, will find much about the use of plants in all areas of community life. Because of Miss Densmore’s deep knowledge and clear presentation, her study remains a rich and useful source for learning about or using native foods, native cures, and native crafts.
160 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1974
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 26, 2024
Another undergraduate course book from OLC. Densmore’s guide is a classic.
November 21, 2011
I bought this book back in 1975 while a student at Indiana University and taking several anthropology courses about Native Americans. I’ve always been fascinated of how indigenous peoples have made use of their environment. I know we can’t turn back the clock, but wouldn’t it be interesting to live for even a short time without unwrapping something covered in plastic?
October 14, 2020
The preservation of the native names is probably one of the better features of this book. Given the source material and time of reprinting, the topics and culture are treated pretty respectfully. There are still places that refer to the “white race” and “more civilized nations” so there is a hierarchy of ideas present in the text --such as the section addressing western uses of Ojibwe medicine knowledge. There is a novel or othering approach to native medical practices.
While I think it’s worth investigating with contemporary medical information so that one doesn’t accidentally poison oneself after a preliminary read of the information. Take the Labrador Tea, for example, it can be abortifacient and toxic depending on the plant’s strength, how it's ingested, and the quantity --as with other native teas like black drink, one needs to be careful. I’m always nervous when even older medical texts indicate that something is a “purgative” or “emetic.”
Still, there are some nice plants featured here that are fairly safe like Speckled Alder, which is used similarly to Witch-hazel as an astringent. I like the inclusion of food plants and the details about the berries --is there anything more sublime than wild berries? I liked learning about the frost grape (Vitis cordifolia) as I was much more familiar with the other native grapes, muscadines (Vitis rotundifolia).
The preparation information while sparse in some places does match up to some accounts (such as Sherman’s), especially the preservation and pounding of foods. The authors and knowledge shares included have done a really good job of describing the full family processes connected to rice and maple sap collection. It matches contemporary accounts from several sources including other Anishinaabe authors like Kimmerer. There is still a bit of a disconnect between the author and the reasoning behind Indigenous harvests. The rice cultivation section is a great example of that disconnection as it either misunderstands or places no value on the logic behind not harvesting all of the rice in a pseudo-industrial way to get maximum yield.
Click below for slightly off topic comments:
While I think it’s worth investigating with contemporary medical information so that one doesn’t accidentally poison oneself after a preliminary read of the information. Take the Labrador Tea, for example, it can be abortifacient and toxic depending on the plant’s strength, how it's ingested, and the quantity --as with other native teas like black drink, one needs to be careful. I’m always nervous when even older medical texts indicate that something is a “purgative” or “emetic.”
Still, there are some nice plants featured here that are fairly safe like Speckled Alder, which is used similarly to Witch-hazel as an astringent. I like the inclusion of food plants and the details about the berries --is there anything more sublime than wild berries? I liked learning about the frost grape (Vitis cordifolia) as I was much more familiar with the other native grapes, muscadines (Vitis rotundifolia).
The preparation information while sparse in some places does match up to some accounts (such as Sherman’s), especially the preservation and pounding of foods. The authors and knowledge shares included have done a really good job of describing the full family processes connected to rice and maple sap collection. It matches contemporary accounts from several sources including other Anishinaabe authors like Kimmerer. There is still a bit of a disconnect between the author and the reasoning behind Indigenous harvests. The rice cultivation section is a great example of that disconnection as it either misunderstands or places no value on the logic behind not harvesting all of the rice in a pseudo-industrial way to get maximum yield.
Click below for slightly off topic comments:
January 4, 2018
Interesting
This book is a wonderful look into the world of natural healing, natural items, and items used for decoration.
.
This book is a wonderful look into the world of natural healing, natural items, and items used for decoration.
.
December 6, 2023
Lots of good info.
October 27, 2013
This book is set up as more of a reference guide that a book to be read cover-to-cover, though I did exactly that. There is so much information within these pages, that I will definitely be keeping it to refer back to regularly. There are also many different recipes and crafts shared. Much work to be done!
July 18, 2013
Now this was a good book. It shows all kinds of things from how to make a container out of Birch Bark to certain edible foods. I really enjoyed learning from it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews