Ethnobotany of the Meskwaki Indians / by Huron H. Smith.

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BULLETIN, PUBLIC MUSEUM, MILWAUKEE.

[Vol. 4

rod. The flowers are used to make a lotion for bee stings, also to cure
swollen fauces The leaves are also used as a beverage.
Showy Goldenrod (Solidago speciosa Nutt.), "wasawfi'skwi'
[yellow] (M), "wasawana'kwosit" [big yellow weed] (P P). The
root of this is used to make a tea that heals burns or scalding from
steam.
Elm-leaved Goldenrod (Solidago ulmifolia Muhl.), "pfikwini'sikfin [smoke a person] (P P). Although the Meskwaki did not
have a distinctive name for this plant they used it in the same manner
as specified by McIntosh, as a reviver of consciousness. It is smudged
and the smoke directed up the nostrils.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale Weber),27 "wisakatce'piki" [sweet
root (M), "wasakfltca'pik" [strong root] (P P). The root of the
dandelion is accounted a strong medicine among these Indians. When
one fails with other remedies, the root tea is taken for a pain in the
chest.
Specimen 3650 of the Dr. Jones collection consists of bits of the root
of Taraxacum officinale and other things and is called "wisaga'ki"
[bitter]. This is a mixture called bitter medicine and a drink is brewed
that is used for a pain in the chest.
Dandelion is official in nearly all pharmacopoeias, and was formerly
largely used for its mildly tonic, diuretic and laxative properties. It
was thought to increase the activity of the liver and promote secretion
of the bile. Dyspepsia, constipation and chronic jaundice were some of
the ailments treated with this root extract by the white man.
CONVOLVULACEAE (MORNING GLORY FAMILY)
Dodder (Cuscuta gronovii Willd.). This plant was quite common
but neither McIntosh nor the Meskwaki knew any name or use for it.
CORNACEAE (DOGWOOD FAMILY)
Panicled Dogwood (Cornus paniculata L'Her.). Three specimens
collected at different times and places, all proved to be the same shrub,
but had different names. Meskwaki names "maskwa'pimishi" [red
tree]; "nowea'kfisa"; "wiskopitce'piki akwi" [weed of the ground] or
'TPresent series, Vol. IV, pt. 1, p1. XXX1, fig. 1.