Collections of the NSHS

NEGenWeb Project

ETHNOBOTANY OF OMAHA INDIANS

335

use in bathing for fevers. The dried and powdered leaves of this plant were used for nasal hemorrhage, being applied by blowing into the nostrils. I suppose the astringent effect was sought, as well as the mechanical obstruction of the flow of blood, by the powder.
   The root of Caulophyllum thalictroides (blue cohosh), ZHU NAKADA TANGA MA^NKA^N, was the favorite febrifuge. The name indicates the value ascribed to it in this use-ZHU, flesh or body; NAKADA, hot; TANGA, great; MA^NKA^N, medicine; altogether signifying the medicine for great or severe fever.
   The inflorescences of Oxalis stricta (yellow sheepsorrel), HADE SATHE, (sour grass), were used as a poultice for swellings. The fruits of Rhus glabra were used to make a poultice in case of poisoning. Dried and powdered they were used to blow into wounds and open sores for their astringent effect. The people were afraid to touch the leaves of Rhus toxicodendron, HTHI WATHE (to make sore). The root of Lacinaria scariosa (button snake root, or blazing star), MA^NKA^N-SAGI (hard medicine), was powdered and applied in a poultice for external inflammation and was taken internally for abdominal troubles. L. spicata they called TDE SINDE (buffalo tail) from the resemblance of its inflorescence, but it was not considered to have any medicinal value.
   The bark of Gymnocladus dioica (Kentucky Coffee Tree), NU^NTITA, was powdered and mixed with NIÁ- SHIGA MA^NKA^N, Cucurbita foetidissima, and the root of Lacinaria scariosa, MA^NKA^N-SAGI, and the mixture used for a tonic and appetizer. The root of Silphium laciniatum, ZHA-PA (bitter weed), was given to horses with their salt as a tonic. It was said to give them avidity for water and forage and make them take on flesh--a sort of aboriginal condition powder.
   A common ailment among the Omaha is eye trouble,

336

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

and for its alleviation various agents were employed, among them being the root of Echinacea angustifolia, the hips of Rosa arkansana, and various other plants.
Concerning plants of miscellaneous mention, it may be said that when hunting buffaloes on the Platte and Republican rivers, on seeing Solidago spp., ZHA SAGE ZI (hard yellow weed), coming into bloom, the people would say: "Now our corn is becoming hard at home on the NI-SHUDE (Missouri river). Micrampelis lobata, WARTANGA-HI, was called by the people "ghost melons". I suppose the ghostly white, vapory appearance of the blooming vines as seen in the dusk of evening running over the bushes in the hollows of the hills, suggested the name; or perhaps the airy structure of the fruit itself after the decay of the parenchymatous tissue may have suggested it. The pits of Prunus americana, KANDE, were marked by burning to make a sort of dice for gambling. Charcoal from Acer negundo was used as the agent for the tribal tattooing of girls. Out on the buffalo hunt, when fuel was scarce, they sometimes utilized the great gnarled roots of Ceanothus americana for that purpose. The resinous exudation of Silphium laciniatum was very commonly used for chewing gum. The root of Lithospermum canescens, being red, was often chewed by children to color their gum. I was told by a woman of the I^NKÁ SABE gens of the Omaha tribe that red corn was a tabu to her gens. Melilotus alba was introduced and very widely distributed over the Omaha reservation from the first establishment of the mission. There is a curious circumstance in this connection. Some of the plants sprang up about the mission, having come from the east in the effects of the missionaries. The Indians, coming to the mission, observed it and noticed that its odor resembled Savastana odorata, which they already used as incense, and being pleased with its odor, they also, I suppose, since they found it about the mission,

ETHNOBOTANY OF OMAHA INDIANS

337

naturally connected it with the white man's form of religion. So they often gathered and carried it home with them, and it has become very generally distributed over the reservation.

ECONOMIC PLANTS BY FAMILIES

1. EQUISETACEAE Michx.
   The genus Equisetum, of which several species as named below are found in the region occupied by the Omahas, is characterized by having cylindrical, hollow, simple or branched, green stems, the nodes being ringed by a whorl of scales or vestigial leaves, the internodes being fluted, the stem easily separable at the nodes, the whole plant being exceedingly siliceous. E. arvense L., E. hyemale L., E. Laevigatum A. Br., E. robustum A. Br., and E. variegatum, Schleich.
2. PINACEAE Lindl. Juniperus virginiana L. (Red cedar), MAAZI.
   A small tree, about 5-10 m. in height. Leaves mostly opposite, subulate, spiny. Foliage blue-green when young, becoming rusty brown-green when old. Aments terminal, berry-like cones blue, glaucous. On islands in Platte river and in ravines in bluffs of Missouri river.

3. TYPHACEAE J. St. Hil. Typha latifolia L. (Cattail), WAHAB-IGASKONTHE.
   Stems 1-2 in. high; flat leaves 6-25 mm. broad; spikes dark-brown, staminate and pistillate portions contiguous.

4. ALISMACEAE DC. Sagittaria arifolia Nutt. (Arrow leaf), SI^N.
   Glabrous, terrestrial or partially submerged. Leaves broadly sagittate, acute at apex; basal leaves acute. Petioles outward curving.

338

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

5. GRAMINEAE Juss. Savastana odorata (L.) Scribn.
   (Sweet grass) or (Holy grass), PEZRE ZONSTA. Sheaths smooth; lower leaves elongated, glossy, tender, fragrant. Found in infrequent patches among other herbage in partial shade near clumps of trees.

   Stipa spartea Trin. (Porcupine grass), MIKA-HI; MIKA, comb; HI, plant.
         Six to twelve dm. tall. Basal leaves one-third to one-half as long as the culm. Panicle 1-25 dm. long. Awn 1-2 dm. long, usually twice bent, tightly spiral. On prairies.

   Zixania aquatica L. (Wild rice), SINWANINDE.
      Erect from annual root, 9-30 dm. tall. Long flat leaves. Pistillate flowers on upper branches, staminate on lower. Of wide range in swamps.

   Zea mays L., (Maize) (Indian corn), WAHABE.
      Culms often several from the same fibrous root. Internodes alternately furrowed, sheathed by the bases of the leaves; aborted branches within the furrows. Leaves long, tapering to an acuminate point. Plant 1.5 to 2.5 m. high. Flowers monoecious, protandrous. Staminate inflorescence terminal on central stalk, racemose-paniculate. Pistillate inflorescence axillary, spicate, sometimes branched.

6. ARACEAE. Acorus calamus L., (Sweet flag), MA^NKA^NNINIDA.
   Leaves linear, erect, 5-15 dm. tall. Leaves sharppointed and sharp-edged, closely sheathing each other and the scape. Flowers minute, greenish-yellow.

7. CYPERACEAE. J. St. Hil. Scirpus lacustris L. (Great bulrush) (mat-rush), SA-HI.
   Perennial by rootstocks; culm terete, 1-3 m. tall. Umbel compound appearing lateral. In marshy places.

ETHNOBOTANY OF OMAHA INDIANS

339

8. LILIACEAE. Adans. Allium spp. (Wild onions), MANZHONKA-MANTANAHA-HI. Allium cernum Roth., A. canadense L., A. mutabile Michx., A. nutallii S. Wats., A. reticulatum Don., and A. stellatum Ker.

   These are the species of the region and were all used without specific differentiation.
9. SALICACEAE Lindl.
   Populus sargentii Dode (Populus deltoides Marsh), (Cottonwood), MAA-ZHO^N.
       Large tree, younger bark grayish-green, dark and rough when old. Leaves glabrous, deltoid-ovate, coarsely crenate, in autumn turning clear, bright yellow before falling, apex abruptly acuminate. Young stems shining, light yellowish green.

   Salix luteosericea Rydb.
      Shrub, 1-6 m. high, grayish bark, leaves linear, yellowish silky; aments at ends of leafy branches. On sandbars.

   S. fluviatilis Nutt.
      Much branched shrub, 1-4 m. high in thickets on sandbars and along streams and ponds. Bark, brown or grayish.
   Both these species of Salix are commonly called sandbar willow, and by the Omaha THI 'HE SAGE-HI.

10. JUGLANDACEAE Lindl.
   Juglans nigra L. (Black walnut), TDAGE.
      Large tree, rough, dark bark. Leaflets 13-23, pubescent beneath, rounded at base, apex acuminate. Fruit spherical, nut corrugated, slightly compressed, black.

340

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

   Hicoria alba (L.) Britton.
      A large tree, foliage and twigs fragrant when crushed; bark close, leaflets 7-9, long acuminate; but grayish-white, angled, pointed at summit.

   H. glabra (Mill) Britton.
      Tree, bark close, rough; nut brown, angled, pointed; astringent, bitter, inedible.

   H. laciniosa (Michx. f.) Sarg.
      Large tree, bark separating in long, narrow plates; leaflets 7-9; husk thick; nut oblong, pointed at both ends, yellowish-white.

   H. minima (Marsh) Britton.
      Slender tree, bark close, rough; leaflets, 7-9, long acuminate; husk thin, irregularly 4-valved; but short-pointed.

      All hickories are called NO^NSI-HI.

11. BETULACEAE Agardh. Corylus americana Walt., (Hazel-nut), U^NZHINGA.
   A shrub of variable height up to 25 m. Downy shoots, leaves and involucre, the latter open down to the slightly compressed globular nut.

12. FAGACEAE Drude. Quercus rubra L., (Red oak), BUUDE-HI.
   Large tree in deep woods; bark dark, slightly roughened. Leaves dull green above, paler below; acorn ovoid, 2-3 cm. long, 2-4 times as long as saucershaped cup.
   Quercus spp. other than rubra, TASHKA-HI.

13. ULMACEAE Mirbel. Ulmus falva Michx. (Red elm) (Slippery elm), EZHO^N GTHIGTHIDE.
   Large tree, twigs rough-pubescent; leaves ovate, rough-pubescent beneath, doubly serrate, acuminate at apex, obtuse inequilateral, cordate at base. Inner bark mucilaginous, may be stripped into long strands.

ETHNOBOTANY OF OMAHA INDIANS

341

14. MORACEAE Lindl.
   Morus rubra L. (Red mulberry), ZHO^N-ZI, (Yellow wood).
      Bark brown and rough; leaves ovate, nearly orbicular, scabrous above, pubescent beneath, acuminate at apex. Fruit dark purple-red, pendulous.

   Toxylon pomiferum Raf. (Osage orange), (Bois d'arc), ZHO^NZI-ZHU. ZHO^N, wood; ZI, yellow; ZHU, flesh or body.
      A spiny tree, shrubby, leaves ovate, glossy, entire, acuminate at apex, base obtuse. Head of pistillate flowers ripening into a hard greenish-yellow, tubercled syncarp

15. RANUNCULACEAE Juss. Aquilegia canadensis L.
   (Wild columbine), INU-BTHO^NKITHE-SABE-HI. Glabrous, 2-6 dm. high, lower leaves biternate, upper leaves cunate, pale beneath, flowers nodding.

16. BERBERIDACEAE T. and G. Caulophyllum thalic-troides (L.) Michx. (Blue cohosh), ZHU-NAKADA-TANGA-MA^NKA^N. ZHU, body or flesh; NAKADA, hot; TANGA, great; MA^NKA^N, medicine.
   Glabrous, glaucous when young, 3-9 dm. high. A large triternate, nearly sessile leaf near summit, generally smaller, similar one near base of infloreseence. Flowers greenish-purple. In deep woods.

17. PAPAVERACEAE B. Juss. Sanguinaria canadensis L. (Blood root).
   Rootstock horizontal, several cm. long, with thick, fibrous roots; juice red. Leaves palmately 5-9 lobed. Flowers white. Rich, damp woods.

18. GROSSULARIACEAE Dumont. Ribes missouriensis Nutt, (Gooseberry), PEZI.
   Branches stout, gray shreddy bark; spines usually three together, stout, bristles on younger stems. Flowers white, fruit purple. River banks and thickets.

342

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

19. ROSACEAE B. Juss.
   Rubus occidentalis L., (Black raspberry), AGATHÚN-KEMONGE-HI.
      Stems cane-like, recurved, often rooting at tip. Leaves pinnately 3-foliate, leaflets ovate, acuminate. Fruit purple-black, depressed hemispheric.

   Fragaria virginiana Duchesne (Wild strawberry), BASHTE.
      Rather stout, tufted, dark green; scape equal or shorter than leaves; fruit bright red, ovoid, delicious.

   Rosa arkansana Porter (Prairie rose), WAZHIDE.
      Erect 3-6 dm. high. Stems prickly. Leaflets 7-11, ovate; fruit globose. Prairies.

20. POMACEAE L.
   Crataegus coccinea L.
      Shrub or small. tree. Leaves broadly ovate, incised and sharply serrate. Fruit bright red, globose, or oval, rarely hairy.

   Grataegus mollis (T. & G.) Scheele.
      Shrub or small tree. Leaves broadly ovate, truncate at base, sharply serrate. Fruit, bright red, hairy.

      NOTE--Both these species are commonly called red haw, and by the Omaha TASPA^N-HI.

21. DRUPACEAE DC.
   Prunus americana Marsh (Wild plum), KANDE.
      Shrub or small tree, branches thorny; leaves ovate, serrate, flowers white, fragrant, drupe yellow or red.

   P. besseyi Bailey (Sand cherry), N0^NPA-TANGA.
      Shrub, 3-12 dm. high, branches spreading or prostrate; leaves oval, apex and base acute. Flowers, white, in sessile umbels. Fruit edible, somewhat astringent, black or mottled brown.

ETHNOBOTANY OF OMAHA INDIANS

343

   P. virginiana (L.) (Choke cherry), NU^NPA ZHINGA.
      Shrub or small slender tree, gray bark; leaves thin, broadly oval; flowers in loose racemes. Drupe nearly black, very astringent.

22. CESALPINACEAE KI. and Darcke. Gymnocladus dioica (L.) Koch (Kentucky coffee tree), NO^N-TITA HL
   Large tree, rough bark, leaves large, leaflets 7-15, racemes many-flowered. Pod coriaceous, flat. Sweetish pulp between seeds.

23. PAPILONACEAE L.
   Melitotus alba Desv. (Sweet clover), INU-BTHO^N-KITHE-HI.

   Psorales esculenta Parsh (Pomme de prairie), NUGTHE.
      1-5 dm. high, erect, from turning-shaped, farinaceous root. Corolla blue.

   Amorpha caneseens Pursh (Lead plant, shoe string), TDE-HU^NTO^N-HI.
      Bushy, white-canescent shrub, 3-9 dm. high. Leaves sessile or nearly so, leaflets 2-49, almost sessile. Spikes 5-18 cm. long, standard bright blue.

   Falcata comosa (L.) Kuntze (Hog peanut), HI^NBTHI-HI.
      Sometimes perennial. Slender twining vines running over bushes, racemes of purplish or white flowers in great numbers; pods 2.5 mm. long, containing four or five grayish-mottled beans resembling lentils. From the base of the ascending stems leafless vines spread like a network over the ground, bearing geotropic cleistogamous flowers which produce each a single subterranean bean 6-17 mm. in diameter.

344

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

   Apios apios (L.) MacM. (Ground nut), NU.
      Thick, perennial vines, pinnately 3-7 foliate leaves; rather large brownish-purple or red flowers. Rachis of infloreseence knobby. Stamens diadelphous, (9-1). Rootstocks form chains of edible tubers.

24. OXALIDACEAE Lindl. Oxalis stricta L. (Yellow sheep-sorrel), HADE-SATHE. RADE, grass; SATHE, sour.
   Stem commonly branched, spreading, 1-3 dm. long; foliage pale green; flowers pale yellow. Capsules columnar.

25. RUTACEAE Jusa. Xanthoxylum americanum Mill. (Prickly ash), ZHO^N-PAHIDHADHA or WEDE- HOHO-HI.
   A shrub; leaves pubescent when young, glabrous when old, leaflets 5-11, ovate, opposite, dark green above, lighter beneath; flowers axillary or terminal, appearing before the leaves.

26. ANACARDIACEAE Lindle. Rhus glabra L., (Sumac), MI^NBDI-HI.
   Shrub 6-60 dm. high; leaves alternate; leaflets 11-31, dark green above, whitish below, sharply serrate, drupe covered with short reddish, acid hairs.

   Rhus toxicodendron L., (Poison oak).
      Low, erect. Leaflets ovate, mostly obtuse, often crenately lobed to resemblance of an oak. Fruit depressed globose.

27. ACERACEAE St. Hil.
   Acer saccharinum L. (Silver maple), WENU^NSHABE-THE-HI.
      A tree with flaky bark, young growth distinctly reddish. Leaves deeply 5-lobed, green above, silvery white below.

   A. negundo L. (Box-elder), ZHABATA-ZHO^N-HI.
      Bushy, gnarled and crooked tree, bark rough. Leaves 3-5 foliate, leaflets ovate, acute. Along streams.

ETHNOBOTANY OF OMAHA INDIANS

345

28. RHAMNACEAE Dumort. Ceanothus americana L. (Jersey tea. Red-root), TABÉ-HI.
   Stem ascending from deep reddish root, puberalent. Cymose panicles of white flowers. Fruit depressed, nearly black.

29. VITACEAE Lindl. Vitis vulpina L., (Wild grape), HAZI.
   Leaves thin, shining, terminal lobe commonly long; branches rounded or slightly angled, greenish, tendrils intermittent; berries bluish-black, 8-10 mm. diameter.

30. TILIACEAE Juss. Tilia americana L. (Linden, basswood), HINDE-HI.
   Forest tree with spreading branches, leaves 5-13 cm. wide, coriaceous, sharply serrate, abruptly acuminate. River bottoms.

31. CACTACEAE Lindl. Lophophora williamsii Coult. (Echinocactus williamsii Lem.) (Anhalonium williamsii Eng.) (Mescal), MA^NKA^NAKA.
   NOTE--MA^NKA^N, medicine; AKA, a word which gives a suggestion of personality, regarded as distinctly different from any other medicine.
   "Napiform cactus" with fissured top, hardly rising above the ground, producing a handsome pink flower in early summer, with flattened tubercules arranged in ribs.--(Havard).

32. ELEAGNACEAE Lindl. Lepargyraea argentea (Nutt)
   Greene (Buffalo berry), ZHO^NHOJE-WAZHIDE. Shrub 2-6 m. high, thorny; leaves oblong, obtuse at apex, cuneate narrowed at base, densely silvery-scurfy on both sides; flowers fascicled at nodes; fruit ovoid, scarlet, acid, edible, 4-6 mm. long.

346

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

33. CORNACEAE Link.
   Cornus asperifolia L'Her (Dogwood), MANSA-HTE-HI.
      Shrub, 0.8-3 m. high; leaves broadly ovate, pale beneath, rather dense cymes 3-7 cm. broad; fruit globose, light blue.

   C. amomum L. (Kinnikinnik), NINIGA-HI-HTE-ZHIDE.
      A shrub 1-3 m. high; bark dark red in winter, grayish in summer; leaves petioled, ovate, acuminate at apex; flowers white, in compact cymes; fruit globose, light blue.

34. OLEACEAE Lindl. Fraxinus viridis Michx. (Green ash), TASHINANGA-HI.
   A tree 20 m. or more in height; leaves glabrous, bright green; leaflets 7-9, occasionally coated with pale tomentum below.

35. ASCLEPIADACEAE Lindl. Asclepias syriaca L. (Common milkweed), WAH'DHA-HI.
   Stem stout, simple 9-15 dm. high; leaves ovate, densely pubescent beneath, soon glabrous above; corolla green-purple; hoods ovate, lanceolate with a tooth on each side.

36. VERBENACEAE J. St. Hil. Verbena stricta Vent. (Hoary vervain), PEZHE MANKAN.
   Perennial, soft-pubescent; stem 4-angled, leafy, strict, 3-8 dm. high; leaves ovate, laciniate, spikes mostly sessile. Corolla purplish-blue.

37. LABIATAE B. Juss.
   Monarda fistulosa L. (Wild bergamot, Horse-mint), PEZHE-PA.
      Perennial, fragrant, villous-pubescent, 6-9 dm. high; leaves thin, lanceolate - acuminate, serrate; corolla purplish. Dry hills.

© 1999, 2000, 2001 for the NEGenWeb Project by T&C Miller