COME AND VISIT WINONA’S HEMP MARKET & SPOTTED HORSE COFFEES DURING THE SUMMER INTO THE FALL AND WINTER FOR THE HOLIDAYS on Fridays and Saturdays: 47075 MN-34, Osage, MN 56570

A case for Waawaatesi: That’s the Ojibwe name for firefly.

A case for Waawaatesi: That’s the Ojibwe name for firefly.

Waawaatesi: That’s the Ojibwe name for firefly. It has to do with a flickering light. I live with the fireflies. They seem to be in abundance now, more than ever. Magical sparkles in the night, the edge of the prairie, the edge of the bush. That’s where they live.

In praise of potato by Winona LaDuke

In praise of potato by Winona LaDuke

I’m particularly fond of purple potatoes. I grow them. Mewizha, way back in the day, my ancestors also grew a purple potato.

“The Ojibwe have cultivated this early potato, according to their traditions since aboriginal times, and it surely looks primitive enough. It is round in circumference, about two or three inches long, has purplish flesh, and never cooks to a mealy consistency. It is much prized for soups and is always firm and crisp when cooked..,” Ethnobotanist Huron Smith would report to the Milwaukee museum 100 years ago.