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

1928]

SMITH, ETHNOBOTANY OF THE MESKWAKI.

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the name wappate or wapatoo by some tribe of Indians there. It is
also called "Tule root."50
Specimen 3695 of the Dr. Jones collection is the cooked corms of
Sagittaria latifolia and is called "apenyigi kicesutcigi" [cooked potatoes]. The corms are cooked and dried as a part of their winter food
supply. Specimen 5037 is also the fresh or dried corms of Sagittaria
latifolia for food use. It is called "nenatiwapenyigi" [Indian potatoes].
ACERACEAE (MAPLE FAMILY)
Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.),57 "sena'mish" [cold timber] (PP). There are not many sugar trees on the Meskwaki reservation; hence but little sugar is made, but they recall with considerable
longing the sugar that they used to make in Wisconsin. Most of their
cooking, even of meats, in the olden days was done with maple sugar as
the seasoning instead of salt, but now they have to depend mostly upon
salt.
ANACARDIACEAE (SUMAC FAMILY)
Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra L.), "pekwana'nomishi" (M). The
berries of the smooth sumac are used to make a cooling drink in the
summer time, using sugar to sweeten the drink. Some save it for
winter also. It is mildly acid and reminiscent of lemonade.
ARISTOLOCHIACEAE (BIRTHWORT FAMILY)
Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense L.), shown in plate XLV, fig. 1,
"pa'pfia'nl" (M). The root of wild ginger is kept on hand at all times
and it might be called their most important native seasoning. A good
many mud catfish are caught in the Iowa river, which flows through
their reservation and the use of wild ginger in cooking them destroys
the mud taste and renders them palatable. It is also used to cook with
some animal that has died, such as a hog or a cow, and has been given
them by some farmer. When used in this way, they claim there is no
danger of ptomaine poisoning.
"Present series, Vol. IV, pt. 1, pl. VII, fig. 2.
A Lyons, A. B.-Plant Names, Scientific and Popular, 1907, Detroit, p. 408,
Art. 1906.