The Name
How the Kinnickinnic River Got its Name
According to John James Prucha and Norman Arthur Foss in Kinnickinnic Years (Distributed by N. F. Dagnal Enterprises, Box 820, Carnegie, PA 15106-0820), “kinnickinnic” originates from Chippewa and Cree dialects of the Algonquian language, literally meaning “that which is mixed.” It refers to a smoking mixture of the inner bark of willows or dogwoods and indigenous tobacco. The most commonly used shrub was the red osier “red willow” dogwood, Cornus stolonifera.
Prucha and Foss describe the use of “kinnickinnic”(pages 1,2):
“The Indians peeled away the red outer bark and then shaved the white inner bark into thin curlicues. These were toasted on a split-willow frame over an open fire, pulverized between the hands, and then mixed with native tobacco in a ratio of about 3 : 1. The resulting mixture when smoked has a pleasant taste and aroma that is far more agreeable than could be achieved by smoking undiluted the strong, harsh leaves of the native and semi-wild tobacco plant.
In olden times, the use of kinnickinnic had great spiritual significance. It was smoked principally to solemnize some religious observance. It could be used to invoke the aid of a spirit whose help was needed or to appease a spirit which in one way or another had shown displeasure with the person making the offering. Kinnickinnic might be used with a prayer to the thunderbird to quiet a severe thunderstorm, or it might be offered in quest of relief from a drought. Its use at dances, games and festivals helped to fulfill ceremonial practices. Its use with the traditional dream dance promoted “…the worship of the Great Spirit and the propagation of a doctrine of universal peace and brotherhood…” (Quoted from S. Barrett, “The Dream Dance of the Chippewa and the Menominee,” Bulletin of the Milwaukee Public Museum 1(1911): 357-369.)
Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, 1971 gives the following spellings of the word (none of which match our spelling!): kinnikinnick, kinnikinic, kinnikinick, kinnikinnic, kinnikinnik, killickinnic, killikinick, or killickinnick, and defines it:
[of Algonquian origin; akin to Natick kinukkinuk mixture, Ojibwa kinikinige he mixes by hand] 1: a mixture of the dried leaves and bark of certain plants (as sumac leaves and the inner bark of a dogwood, esp. the silky cornel) and sometimes tobacco smoked by the Indians and pioneers in the Ohio valley and the region of the Great Lakes 2: a plant used in kinnikinnick: as a: bearberry b: silky cornel c: red osier d: either of two sumacs (Rhus virens and R. microphylla) chiefly of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico.
