English
willow
Scientific Name
Salix spp. in general
Arapaho
Willows and the Arapaho
Fiber: building material. Willows are used to make sweat lodge frames.
Fiber: basketry. Willow baskets were woven for dice playing.
Fiber: furniture. Willows were used to create “cages” in which children were transported on travois. They were also used to frame cradles, and to frame the structure of sweat lodges. Backrests used inside tipis were also made of willow
Drug: analgesic. Arapahos today report that the bark of the willow can be used “like aspirin.”
Other: implements. Many small tools were made using willow. In the “Life of Medicine Grass,” he reports that willow checks were chewed at the end as a way of making combs.
Other: hunting and fishing item: Arrows were made from willow.
Other: ceremonial items. Willows are used in the Sun Dance altar. Willows were also represented in decorative motifs on parfleches and rawhide bars (Kroeber 1983:110, 132). The ceremonial lance of the biitohoowu’ age-grade ceremony was made of willow (1983:176).
Other: toys and games: willows were used to make snow-sliding sticks, according to Mooney (1008)
