Arrow Poisons of the North American Indians
For clarity of presentation, the tribal groups germane to the theme of this chapter are organized in terms of the Culture Areas typically employed for Native North American ethnological discussion: Southeast, Northeast, Plains, Southwest, California, Great Basin, Columbia-Fraser Plateau, Northwest, Subarctic, Aleutian Islands, and Arctic.
The Northeast
The eastern boundary of the Northeastern Culture Area runs from Maryland, through New England, to Newfoundland and the southeast corner of Canada, and from the Atlantic seaboard to the lower Great Lakes. Major tribes of the area include the Iroquois Confederacy (Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk) and the Huron, Algonquin, Penobscot, Micmac, Erie, Abnaki, Naskapi, Montagnais, Menominee, and Delaware.
One of the earliest references to arrow poisoning in the Northeast comes from Jesuit Relations: —, which notes that the Erie used poisoned arrows during their wars with the Iroquois in — The formula for the poison was not recorded though the assumption is that the arrows were infected with rattlesnake venom like those of the Indians
Poison ivy
Allergenic plant of Asia and North America
For other uses, see Poison ivy (disambiguation).
Poison ivy is a type of allergenic plant in the genus Toxicodendron native to Asia and North America. Formerly considered a single species, Toxicodendron radicans, poison ivies are now generally treated as a complex of three separate species: T.&#;radicans, T.&#;rydbergii, and T.&#;orientale. They are well known for causing urushiol-induced contact dermatitis, an itchy, irritating, and sometimes painful rash, in most people who touch them. The rash is caused by urushiol, a clear liquid compound in the plant's sap. They are variable in appearance and habit, and despite its common name, it is not a "true" ivy (Hedera), but rather a member of the cashew and pistachio family (Anacardiaceae). T.&#;radicans is commonly eaten by many animals, and the seeds are consumed by birds, but poison ivy is most often thought of as an unwelcome weed.
Species
[edit]Three species of poison ivy are generally recognised; they are sometimes considered subspecies of Toxicodendron radicans:[1][2][3]
Description
[edit]Poison ivies can grow as
“The poison oak or poison ivy (Rhus radicans), so abundant in the damp eastern forests, is feared as much by Indians as by whites. When obliged to approach it or work in its vicinity, the Cherokee strives to conciliate it by addressing it as ‘My friend’ (hí gĭnalĭi).”
~ James Mooney, Myths of the Cherokee and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokee
ALL ABOUT POISON IVY
(excerpted from Secrets of the Forest by Mark Warren, © copyright by permission of the author)
During a plant class with twelve-year-olds, I was kneeling before a poison ivy specimen and explaining what the students needed to know about it, how to recognize it, what to do if they knew they had been exposed, and how to cure the rash with another plant’s juices. When I was finished, one student said proudly, “I can’t get it. I’m not allergic to it.”
As I was in the middle of explaining that such immunity can change at any time in a person’s life, the student – smiling broadly – plucked a leaflet and began rubbing her arms with it. We all watched with mixed reactions of doubt, horror, awe, and curiosity.
The next morning she came to me as the very portrait of misery. Her arms were covered in blisters. “I itched all
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