=Cat-tail= (_Typha latifolia_ L.), “abûkweˈskwe” [wigwam cover; that is, the plant leaves]. The Flambeau Ojibwe women use the cat-tail leaves to make wind and rain-proof mats to be placed on the sides of the medicine lodge or any temporary wigwam or sweat lodge. They sew with a bone needle and nettle or basswood fiber with a hidden stitch, and bind the edges securely with their sewing cord. These mats are made quite large to cover the wigwams, and are rolled and carried around with them. They are not quite rain-proof as a roofing material, so birchbark rolls are used for that purpose. The fuzz or seed of the cat-tail is called “bebamasûˈn” [it flies around], and is used to make mattresses and sleeping bags. They say the fuzz will blind one if it gets into his eyes. They gather the heads and boil them first, which causes all the bugs to come out of them. Then they dry them and strip the fuzz, to make a mattress, which they claim is as soft as feathers, but very prone to mat together, so that it must be shaken often and thoroughly. They also make a quilt of it, and from the quilt a sleeping bag. This is declared to be soft and warm in the coldest weather. URTICACEAE (NETTLE FAMILY) =Wood Nettle= (_Laportea canadensis_ [L.] Gaud.), “masanaˈtîg” [woods fiber]. The Pillager Ojibwe say that their old people used the rind of this nettle as a sewing fiber. =Slippery Elm= (_Ulmus fulva_ Michx.), “aniˈb” [its name]. The Pillager Ojibwe strip this bark to use as a wigwam cover, for the sides of the wigwam. =Lyall’s Nettle= (_Urtica lyalli_ Wats.), “masan” [woods]. In aboriginal times, the Flambeau Ojibwe used the bark or rind of this nettle to give them a fine, stout sewing fiber. OJIBWE VEGETAL DYES Some of the old people among all Ojibwe still use vegetable and native dye stuffs, especially upon a mat or piece of material that they expect to keep for their own use. For the tourist trade, they will use “Diamond” dyes or any sort they can get as they are not especially interested in how well the color lasts in that case. John Whitefeather, Flambeau Ojibwe, asked the writer to find a good dye for them, as he had been unable to buy any since 1914. Several lots were sent to him, but none was found that had the penetration and permanence of the German dyes that he had before the war. He had to resort to native dye stuffs to get those qualities, but, of course, could not get the same range of colors in native dye stuffs. That was the main reason he sought more of the white man’s dyes. They boil the material they wish to color in the mixture of plant parts and some earth to set the color. For this they use various clays, the red or black sand that bubbles up in a spring, or stone dust, perhaps with a few, rusty, iron nails thrown in the kettle for good measure. Sometimes the bark of Black Oak (_Quercus velutina_ Lam.) was used to set the color. OJIBWE DYE PLANTS ANACARDIACEAE (SUMAC FAMILY)