SAXIFRAGACEAE (SAXIFRAGE FAMILY) =Prickly Gooseberry= (_Ribes cynosbati_ L.), “meˈ skwacaboˈ mînûk” [red berries with thorns]. The Flambeau Ojibwe relish these berries when ripe and make them into preserves for winter use. =Wild Black Currant= (_Ribes americanum_ Mill.), “amîˈkomîn” [beaver berries], shown in plate 70, fig. 1. The Pillager Ojibwe eat these berries fresh, in jams, and preserves and dry them for winter. In the winter, a favorite dish is wild currants cooked with sweet corn. The Flambeau Indians use them in a like manner, but call them “kagagîtciˈ mîn” [raven berries]. =Wild Red Currant= (_Ribes triste_ Pall.), “mîcitciˈ mînûk”. The Flambeau Ojibwe gather these currants and use them as they do the Wild Black Currants. =Smooth Gooseberry= (_Ribes oxyacanthoides_ L.), “caboˈ mînûk” [smooth berry]. The Flambeau Ojibwe gather this berry for fresh food, and also make it into preserves for winter use. It is often cooked with sweet corn. SOLANACEAE (NIGHTSHADE FAMILY) =Ojibwe Potato= (_Solanum tuberosum_ L.), “opîn” [potato].[143] The Ojibwe have cultivated this early potato, according to their traditions since aboriginal times, and it surely looks primitive enough. It is round in circumference, about two or three inches long, has purplish flesh, and never cooks to a mealy consistency. It is much prized for soups and is always firm and crisp when cooked. White Cloud’s potato patch on Bear Island, Leech Lake, Minnesota, is shown in plate 58, fig. 1. URTICACEAE (NETTLE FAMILY) =Hop= (_Humulus lupulus_ L.) “jiˈwîciniˈ goniˈ bûg”. The Pillager Ojibwe often use the hop fruit as a substitute for baking soda. VITACEAE (VINE FAMILY) =Virginia Creeper= (_Psedera quinquefolia_ [L.] Greene), “manîdoˈ bimakwît” [spirit twisted]. The Pillager Ojibwe say that the root of this vine was cooked and eaten a long time ago by their people and that it had been given as a special food by Winabojo. =River-bank Grape= (_Vitis vulpina_ L.), “cîˈ wimînûn”. The Pillager Ojibwe use these grapes after they have been frosted, and make them into jelly for winter use. OJIBWE VEGETAL FIBERS The Ojibwe Indians have always been far removed from the beaten paths of the white men, and for this reason make good use of their native plant materials. Oft times, it seems to the white man that they bestow considerable labor, upon making cord, string, mats, baskets and similar articles that might as easily be purchased at a store. But money is not plentiful, and many of the things that can be purchased have inferior lasting qualities. Disgust for a poor substitute, pride in their own resourcefulness, and the habit of centuries has kept them constantly proving that they are the master of their environment and continuing to make their products in the good old Ojibwe way.