wild onion

Barbara Mullin's mother, Julia Lankford picked wild onions every spring for a wild onion and egg meal, consisting of wild onions, eggs, bacon grease and salt. Barbara still cooks this, using green onions for wild ones.

The tribes of the prairies also find in certain places lands that are fertile, and kept moist by the streams that water them, whereon grow onions of the size of one's thumb. The root is like a leek, and the plant which grows from it resembles the salsify. This onion, I say, is so exceedingly acrid that, if one tried to swallow it, it would all at once wither the tongue, the throat, and the inside of the mouth; I do not know, however, whether it would have the same injurious effect on the inside of the body. But this difficulty hardly ever occurs, for as soon as one takes it into the mouth he spits it out; and one imagines that it is a certain wild garlic, which is quite common in the same places, and has also an insupportable acridness. When the savages lay in a store of these onions, with which the ground is covered, they first build on oven, upon which they place the onions, covering them with a thick layer of grass; and by means of the heat which the fire communicates to them the acrid quality leaves them, nor are they damaged by the flames; and after they have been dried in the sun they become an excellent article of food. Their abundance, however, counts for nothing, although the agreeable taste which one finds in them often induces him to satisfy his appetite with them; for nothing in the world is more indigestible and more nourishing. You feel a load on your chest, your belly as hard as a drum, and colic pains which last two or three days. When one is forewarned of this effect, he refrains from eating much of this root. I speak from experience, having been taken unawares by it; and after the distress which I experienced from it I have no longer any desire to taste it".

Wild onion (A. vineale) is used as a spring tonic for maintaining good health.

"I pick, clean, and peel an onion"

"8iscapesi8a", or wiihkapesiwa, "small onions good for stopping dysentery"

Myaamia families had favorite wild onion gathering areas.

Due to lead, cadmium and zinc contamination in the Tar Creek Superfund Site's watershed, around Miami, Oklahoma and the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma's headquarters, Miami and other local tribal members worry that traditional gathering of food, medicine and CUSTOMS items may be contaminated. Fish, wild blackberries, sassafras, pokeweed, basket-making supplies and wild onions could have high concentrations of lead, as do the waters of nearby lakes, and it is not always successful keeping tribal members out of these areas. The Seneca-Cayuga's berry dance could not be held, if all the wild blackberries and strawberries in the area are found to be contaminated.

Mable Olds (Leonard) picked poke and wild onions for cooking.

Wild onions were gathered and eaten as greens rather than for the bulbs. They were gathered this year.

"When the savages lay in a store of these onions, with which the ground is covered, they first build an oven, upon which they place the onions, covering them with a thick layer of grass; and by means of the heat which the fire communicates to them the acrid quality leaves them, nor are they damaged by the flames; and after they have been dried in the sun they become an excellent article of food".

"The tribes of the prairies also find in certain places lands that are fertile, and kept moist by the streams that water them, whereon grow onions of the size of ones thumb."

". . . the root is like a leek, and the plant which grows from it resembles the salsify. This onion, I declare, is so exceedingly acrid that if one tries to swallow it, it would all at once wither the tongue, the throat, and the inside of the mouth; I do not know, however, whether it would have the same injurious effect on the inside of the body . . ."

"The wild onion is still eaten by the Miamis as an early vegetable, but without this formidable preparation. They are washed, cut fine, and fried in grease until they wilt, then a little water is added, with salt, pepper and enough flour to cream. This removes the acrid taste".

Wild onion corms gathered and used.

Shawnee collected this plant.

The cultural information for this entry refers to both Allium stellatum and Allium cernuum: both are considered to be referred to by the term wiinhsihsia, or by translation of 'wild onion' or 'onion'.

The city name Chicago, originates from the Miami-Illinois word sikaakwa, meaning striped skunk. sikaakwa is also the Miami-Illinois word for Allium tricoccum or other common, similar Allium species. Chicago "is a perfect example of this very practical, fundamental kind of botanically oriented place name. It was a sign indicating that somewhere in the immediate local watershed one could find a signficant patchof wild leeks," or wild onions.

Another reference to an "onion" which probably is not an Allium species: "They also store up onions, as big as Jerusalem artichokes, which they find in the prairies, and which I find better than all the other roots. They are sugary and pleasing to the palate. They are cooked like macopines".

Lora Siders recalled the legend that one of the greatest Myaamia cities was on the shores of the big lake near the onion patch [this was presumably Chicago, named after the word meaning 'onion patch' or 'stinking place'], where the son of the Great Spirit walked with the Myaamia on sands by the big lake at the onion patch. She believed this to have been confirmed when archaeologists found an ancient city, at New Lennox (near Chicago) with remains of two skeletons identified as Myaamia.

"wild onion, na-langi, win-sis-syah"

Wild onion mentioned.

The Myaamia term "cikakwa" was formerly used for the wild onion, as well as by other Algonquians. Now the word is only used for 'skunk'.