University of Hawai’i
University of
Hawai’i at
Manoa offers
bachelor’s,
master’s and
doctorate
degrees in
ethnobotany.
Other questions
• What kind of opportunities
are there for people to get a degree in
ethnobotany?
– University of Hawai’i and minors with Botany and
other majors in some locations
• What job opportunities are there for those
graduates?
– I’m not sure; I’d like to know
• What are the benefits to a tribe or a college for
doing a study of this type?
– Preservation of culture
Minnesota State University
• Minnesota State
University at
Mankato has an
ethnobotany site:
http://www.mnsu.ed
u/emuseum/cultural/
ethnoarchaeology/in
dex.shtml
– It talks about plant
uses, but in a general
way, not tribespecific.
Another website
• Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases: http://www.arsgrin.gov/duke/
(thanks Gary!)
There are books (sometimes
magazine articles) out there
• A person has to search for a tribe’s name, use
all the known names by which people have
called that particular tribe over time, and be
willing to use “ethnobotany” “botanical
studies
• One article about the Coeur d’Alene in the
Journal of Ethnobotany recorded how the
plant was named, by the time of year it
blooms, by the animals that eat it, what it
looks like, its medical use, etc.
Here are a few of the
local plants of cultural
importance to the
Ho-Chunk people of
Nebraska …
Xa\wi\ ska,
Artemisia
ludoviciana,
Wild sage,
Xa\wi\ ska
means “herb
white”
(“Ha-wiska”)
Ma\hi\c, Asclepias syriaca,
Milkweed
Ma\hi\c buds
are boiled
with meat for
stew.
(University of
Michigan
ethnobotany
database,
based on
Moerman’s
book.)
http://virtual.parkland.edu
http://www.all-creatures.org
(“Ma-heench”)
Ka\c, Prunus americanus,
Wild Plum,
Ka\c means plum.
Ka\c -hu means plum
tree.
(“Kontch”)
Spring, before leaves, above;
August, plums ripening, right.
Photo: http://www.catnapin.com
Wakirikirik, Ulmus rubra,
Red Elm
· Inner bark medicinal
· Trees used to make
earth lodge.
· Bark used for ropes.
· Logs used to make
corn mortars
& pestles for grinding
medicines.
· Bark used in firemaking.
(“Wakidik kidik”)
Ha\k si\c, Achillea
millefolium Yarrow
Ha\k si\c
means
“woodchuck’s
tail”
(“Honk-seentch”)
Plant: http://www.toyen.uio.no/ Leaf: http://homepage.eircom.net
Echinacea angustifolia
& E. purpurea, Purple coneflower
• Pain reliever, burn
dressing
• Snakebite remedy
• Used in the steam
bath to “render
great heat
endurable.”
• Used to treat horses
with distemper
• Known for boosting
immune system
Ca waruc, Rug`i s`uc, Cornus
amomum, Roughleaf Dogwood,
Bark used
for smoking.
• Ca waruc
means “deer
food,” by
Wisconsin
Hocak.
• (“Cha warootch”)
Verbena hastata,
(Ma\ka\reju\ksuksi
k) this purple spiky
flower in the front,
blooms July through
September in
Nebraska.
Pex hišuc’u, Bloodroot,
Sanguinaria canadensis
Pex hišuc’u means
“red gourd,” refers to the use
of the plant for reddening
gourd rattles.
Main use in treatment
of bronchitis. Treats asthma,
croup and laryngitis.
Root boiled with
things to dye them red dye;
also used as a decorative skin
stain.
http://www.epa.gov
Are there any
questions?
Does anyone want
handouts printed?
Contact Information
Natalie Davis
Native IMAGE Technical Assistant
Circulation Supervisor/Library
Little Priest Tribal College
601 E. College Drive
Winnebago, NE 68071
Phone: (402) 878-3318
Fax: (402) 878-2355
Email: ndavis@lptc.bia.edu
Jan Bingen
Native IMAGE Director
CIS/Business Department Chair
Little Priest Tribal College
601 E. College Drive
Winnebago, NE 68071
Phone: 402-878-2380
Fax: 402-878-2355
Email: jbingen@lptc.bia.edu
Karisa K. Vlasek
Geospatial Extension & Research Specialist
NASA Nebraska Space Grant & EPSCoR
Aviation Institute, Univ. of NE at Omaha
Phone: (402) 554-2042
Fax: (402) 554-2695
Email: kvlasek@mail.unomaha.edu
Thank you, and have a nice earth
Pinagigi (thank you) to:
• Jan Bingen, head of Computer Science and
Program Director of Native IMAGE
• The whole staff of Ho-Chunk Renaissance, but
especially Elaine Rice, Ho-Chunk language
instructor
• Andy Thundercloud, formerly of Ho-Chunk
Renaissance, who provided the Ho-Chunk font
• CeCe Earth, Healing Garden, Winnebago
• And many others who proofread, helped with
technology, etc.