university of hawai’i

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.edu/emuseum/cultural/ethnoarchaeology/index.shtml– It talks about plant

uses, but in a general way, not tribe-specific.

Another website

• Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethno-botanical Databases: http://www.ars-grin.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 theHo-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.)

(“Ma-heench”)http://virtual.parkland.edu http://www.all-creatures.org

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 fire-making.

(“Wakidik kidik”)

Ha\k si\c, Achillea millefolium Yarrow

Ha\k si\cmeans

“wood-chuck’stail”

(“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\ksuksik) 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?

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. VlasekGeospatial Extension & Research SpecialistNASA Nebraska Space Grant & EPSCoRAviation Institute, Univ. of NE at OmahaPhone: (402) 554-2042Fax: (402) 554-2695Email: kvlasek@mail.unomaha.edu

Natalie DavisNative IMAGE Technical AssistantCirculation Supervisor/LibraryLittle Priest Tribal College 601 E. College DriveWinnebago, NE 68071Phone: (402) 878-3318 Fax: (402) 878-2355 Email: ndavis@lptc.bia.edu

Contact Information

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.