Uva ursi kinnikinnick arctostaphylos uva ursi
Kinnikinnick is a Native American herbal smoking mixture. It is made from a traditional combination of leaves or barks that are believed to have medicinal and spiritual qualities.
Contents
Mountain men kinnikinnick tea history
Etymology
The term "kinnikinnick" derives from the Unami Delaware /kələkːəˈnikːan/, "mixture" (c.f. Ojibwe giniginige "to mix something animate with something inanimate"), from Proto-Algonquian *kereken-, "mix (it) with something different by hand".
By extension, the name was also applied by the colonial European hunters, traders, and settlers to various shrubs in which the bark or leaves are employed in the mixture, most often Bearberry (Arctostaphylos spp.) and to lesser degree, Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea) and Silky Cornel (Cornus amomum), and even to Canadian Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), Evergreen Sumac (Rhus virens) and the Littleleaf Sumac (Rhus microphylla).
Preparation and use
The preparation varies by locality and nation. Bartlett quotes Trumbull as saying: "I have smoked half a dozen varieties of kinnikinnick in the North-west — all genuine; and have scraped and prepared the red willow-bark, which is not much worse than Suffield oak-leaf.
Eastern tribes traditionally used Nicotiana rustica for social smoking, while western tribes usually used a variety of kinnikinick for ceremonial use. Cutler cites Edward S. Rutsch's study of the Iroquois, listing ingredients used by other Native American tribes: leaves or bark of red osier dogwood, arrowroot, red sumac, laurel, ironwood, wahoo, squaw huckleberry, Indian tobacco, cherry bark, and mullein, among other ingredients.
In regards to material used for smoking by the Ojibwa, Densmore records the following: The material smoked by the Chippewa in earliest times were said to be the dried leaves of the bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng.), and the dried, powdered root of a plant identified as Aster novae-angliae L.. Two sorts of bark were smoked, one being known as "red willow" (Cornus stolonifera Michx.) and the other as "spotted willow" (Cornus rugosa Lam.). The inner bark is used, after being toasted over a fire and powdered. It is then stored in a cloth or leather bag, and may be used on its own or in combination with other herbs.