Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask: Anishinaabe Botanical Teachings

393 Pages·2015·7.11 MB·English

by  Mary Siisip Geniusz

Geniusz
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NATIVE AMERICAN STUDIES/NATURE l l
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“This is a thoroughly engaging, holistic, and vibrant book. Every w
t
chapter made me hungry for more. Many plant knowledge treatises e
s

are thin soup, but this is hearty and nourishing because it has all h
h
a
the elements that Western scientific plant teachings leave out.” a
v
v
—ROBIN WALL KIMMERER, author of Braiding Sweetgrass e e

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M s
ary Siisip Geniusz has spent more than o o
hirty years working with, living with, and using d
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Anishinaabe teachings, recipes, and botanical
o
u
information. In Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is

i c
Ask, Geniusz makes Anishinaabe botanical information available to s
h
Native and non-Native healers and educators and emphasizes the
a

Anishinaabe culture that developed the knowledge and practice. t
s
o
Teaching the way she was taught—through stories—Geniusz brings k

the plants to life with narratives that explain their uses, meaning, g
and history. i
v
Mary Siisip Geniusz is of Cree and Métis descent and e
an oshkaabewis, a traditionally trained apprentice, of the late
u
Keewaydinoquay. She holds a master’s degree in liberal studies from
s
the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and has taught university
,

courses on ethnobotany, American Indian studies, and American
multicultural studies.
Wendy Makoons Geniusz is of Cree and Métis descent. She
is assistant professor in the Department of Languages at the University
of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, where she teaches Ojibwe language courses.
$22.95
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA PRESS
PRINTED IN U.S.A. ISBN 978-0-8166-9676-5
COVER DESIGN BY FRANCES BACA 52295 >

9 780816 696765
PLANTS H AVE S O M UCH T O G IVE U S,
ALL W E H AVE T O DO I S AS K

PLANTS HAVE SO MUCH TO GIVE US,
ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS ASK
ANISHINAABE BOTANICAL TEACHINGS
MARY SIISIP GENIUSZ
EditEd by WEndy Makoons GEniusz
illustrations by annMariE GEniusz
University of Minnesota Press
Minneapolis
London
The University of Minnesota Press gratefully acknowledges the generous assistance
provided for the publication of this book by the Margaret W. Harmon Fund.
Copyright 2015 by Mary Siisip Geniusz
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
publisher.
Published by the University of Minnesota Press
111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290
Minneapolis, MN 55401–2520
http://www.upress.umn.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Geniusz, Mary Siisip.
Plants have so much to give us, all we have to do is ask: Anishinaabe botanical
teachings / Mary Siisip Geniusz; edited by Wendy Makoons Geniusz; illustrations by
Annmarie Geniusz.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8166-9673-4 (hc)—ISBN 978-0-8166-9676-5 (pb)
1. Ojibwa Indians—Ethnobotany. 2. Ojibwa Indians—Ethnobotany—History—
Sources. 3. Ojibwa Indians—Folklore. 4. Ethnobotany—North America. 5. Plants,
Useful—North America. 6. Medicinal plants—North America. I. Geniusz, Wendy
Djinn. II. Geniusz, Annmarie Fay. III. Title. IV. Title: Anishinaabe botanical teach-
ings.
E99.C6G47 2015
581.6’3097—dc23 2015012241
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer.
21 20 19 18 17 16 15 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Nimaamaayag miinawaa nindaanisag nimiinaag ow mazina’igan.
To my mothers and daughters I give this book.

Spring Tea Poem
To you I would serve cedar tea
mixed with a touch of April
distilled from shy green stems,
the frosted perfume of spring
rain along with a dollop
of honey and ice
—Keewaydinoquay Peschel

Contents
Preface Wendy Makoons Geniusz xiii
Introduction 1
Invocation 7
A Note on Botanical Usage 9
1. Traditional Anishinaabe Teaching about Plants 11
“ The Year the Roses Died” 13
2. Indinawemaaganag: All of My Relatives 31
“ How Cedar and Bearberry Came into the World” 33
“N ookomis-giizhik: The Cedar Song” 36
My Grandmother Cedar: Nookomis-giizhik, White Cedar
(Thuja occidentalis) 37
“ The Lady of the Red and Black Wigwam” 44
“ The Birch Tree, the Maple Tree, and Naanabozho” 49
My Grandfather Birch: Nimishoomis-wiigwaas, Wiigwaasi-mitig,
Birch (White or Paper Birch) (Betula papyrifera) 51
“Naanabozho and the Thunderbirds” 56
“The Runner and the Birch Sap” 62
My Elder Sister: Nimisenh, Ingiigido’aag, Wadab, Aninaandag,
Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea) 67