Entry Detail


hickory tree


Entry Type:  
Species
Scientific Name:  
Common Name:  
hickory tree
Myaamia Name:  
peešiaanikopa
Habitats:  
Dry Prairie grasslands, Wet Prairie grasslands with flooding, Conifer Shrubland and Forest

Media 
Media not available.
Myaamia Archival Sources  
Reference Source Reference Type Archival Data Comments
Kinietz, V. 1938 Use - Material 

Shingaukekaunekee is a game played on the ice, with a bow, about fifteen feet long, four inches wide and a half an inch thick, made from hickory or another hard wood. "it may be said to resemble a sleigh runner rather than a bow, in shape, and one end is thicker & heavier than the other. Two people play, and each has a boundary, quite far apart, that the other tries to obtain by throwing the bow. The bow is thrown to move towards the far boundary, each person trying to gain their own boundary behind their opponent. The whole village is involved, and there are objects of value staked upon the game, by the villagers. Sometimes the game starts by one village sending a challenge to another village, by way of a miniature bow, decorated with the items to be staked upon the game. Poles are set up during the game, for hanging these items used for betting".

Rafert, S. 1989 Use - Technology 

"But they also made it of hickory bark and fastened it in bundles and fired that and made torches with that, to walk by at night and spear fish . . . This getting fish at night when the water's clear was the best way in the world to get them".

Gatschet, A.S. ca. 1895 Use - Technology 

Peoria arrows were made of hickory and dogwood.

Gatschet, A.S. ca. 1895 Related Info 

 "pakanīzhi", "pakáni tawáni" and "pakanizháxkwi" all mean the "hickory tree in all its species as enumerated under pakani".

Dunn, J.P. 1908 Use - Technology 

"The Miamis did not use birch-bark canoes, which the Algonquians usually called tci-maun, but they sometimes made canoes of hickory or elm bark. The name for these is la-kik-kwi-mis-so-li or bark canoe".

Tippman, D. 1999 Use - Technology 

Stems hollowed out using a willow branch, then a whittled down hickory stick placed inside along with a paper wad to make a pop-gun.

Gonella, M.P 2003-2006 Use - Technology 

Hickory wood is used to make a bow.

Burns, N.L. 1938 Related Info 

A Peoria observation of Nez Perces when they were held in Miami: "To make their bows they would bury their hickory poles in the coals until the outside of the poles charred and then they would scrape off the charred portion. This was repeated until the pole became the size wanted and in this way the wood was seasoned at the same time."

Gonella, M.P 2003-2006 Use - Food 

Hickory nuts are gathered for eating.

Gatschet, A.S. ca. 1895 Use - Food 

In the traditional story Young Thunder William Pekongah describes the crops he had growing on his land 160 acres of reserve in central Indiana. "There I planted corn, wheat, potatoes, peas, tobacco, beans, apple trees, pumpkins, watermelons, cucumbers, onions, hay, straw, gooseberries, raspberries, blackberries, currants, turnips, tomatoes, pawpaws, cherries, strawberries, plums, blackhaws, peaches, walnut trees, pecans, hickory nuts, barley and rye."

Anonymous 1837 Related Info 

 "qefeneqopυ, hickory"

Dunn, J.P. ca. 1900 Use - Technology 

Bird arrows with a blunt point made out of dogwood and hickory wood, both which sink in the water.

Dunn, J.P. ca. 1900 Related Info 

"pä́cĭánĭkópa, hickory"

Dunn, J.P. ca. 1900 Related Info 

"The Weas use kwä́cĭánĭkópa generically", for all hickories.

Gatschet, A.S. ca. 1895 Use - Material 

"nusikáni, sweat-lodge or aboriginal sudatory [sweat lodge]. These temporary structures consisted of bent branches of hickory or other trees, and planted in the ground on both ends. A buffalo or cowhide was thrown over the circular space within, and after excluding the outside air, heated stones were brought inside and steam developed by throwing water".

Botanical Sources  
Reference Source Reference Type Data Comments
Gleason, H.A. and Cronquist, A. 1991 Habitat 

Occurs in rich, moist soils.

Related Sources  
Reference Source Reference Type Data Comments
Shea, J.G. 1903  

Allouez remarked about the Illinois' use of bow and arrow: "They ordinarily carry only the warclub, bow, and a quiver full of arrows, which they discharge so adroitly and quickly, that men armed with guns, have hardly time to raise them to the shoulder. They also carry a large buckler made of skins of wild cattle; which is arrow-proof, and covers the whole body".

Bush, L. L 1996  

Human-charred hickory shell material recovered from excavations at an early 19th century Myaamia village site (Ehler Site, 1795-1812), Fort Wayne.

Kellogg, L.P. 1923  

Great Lakes tribes in general, use sweats to treat many illnesses. To provoke a sweat, hickory wood and pine branches are boiled in a kettle under the person, causing a profuse sweat

Bush L. L. 2003  

Archaeological studies have demonstrated that nuts preserved as nutshell (walnut, hickory and hazelnut species) were an important wild food resource utilized by Late Woodland indigenous peoples of central and southern Indiana prior to 700 A.D. through approximately 1450 A.D. Results of these studies indicate that nut use declined over the Late Woodland period prior to 700 A.D. to 1450 A.D. probably due to increased cultivation of fall-maturing crops like corn, and conflicts with gathering nuts during this same time period.