Medicine Trunk
This trunk was once owned by Moses Decorah (1855–1929), a Winnebago medicine man born in Marquette County and the son of Four Deer. In the late 1800s, Decorah toured with Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show—a traveling theatrical performance that portrayed a dramatized version of the Western frontier experience. The show ran from 1883 to 1913, traveling across the United States and Europe, and employed a diverse cast of [Anglo] Cowboys, Cowgirls, African Americans, and Native Americans. A fun local connection: the show made six stops in Arkansas, including one in nearby Fayetteville on September 28, 1898—just a short distance from MONAH.
Cody would have contracted Moses to be an interpreter and horseman after meeting him in Tomah, Wisconsin. This would have been a great opportunity for Moses, as most reservation jobs had paid less than eight dollars a month, whereas the show offered twenty-five dollars a month. Something unusual for this time was that he would be paid the same as other members of the show while he and his family traveled with the show. While the show perpetuated stereotypes of Indigenous people, Native performers were able to earn a living while being encouraged to maintain their language, rituals, and culture during a time when it was increasingly difficult to do. This is one of the main factors why the Indigenous people wanted to be a part of this show.
The trunk contains two levels filled with glass containers that hold all kinds of herbs, minerals, and the tools needed to make medicine or treatments. Native American healing traditions have long been believed to address a wide range of health issues, including heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer. Medicine Men weren’t just healers—they also served as spiritual leaders in their communities. Pictured below are several of the herbs found in the trunk, along with other essential items that were used.
-B. Easley
Listed below are the herbs that are listed on our plaques:
Medicinal
1) Cedar Nuts
2) Tea (Medicine)
3) Indian Medicine for the Blood
4) Medicine for Tuberculosis
5) Dogwood Seeds
6) Cherry Leaves & Bark
7) Whooping Cough Medicine
8) Hedge Mustard (Ulcers and Wounds)
9) Mistletoe
10) Juniper as Medicine
11) Indian Prepared Medicine
Non-Medicinal
12) Dried Salmon
13) Acorns
14) Juniper Berries
15) Wild Service Berries
16) Wild Sunflower Berries
17) Bitter Roots
18) Dried Corn Silk (as food)
19) Dried Meat
20) Bread and Wild Carrots
21) Wild Carrot
22) Deer Meat
23) Pasago-wild Potato
24) Pasago-wild Potato
25) Alaskan Reindeer Meat
26) Dried Clams
27) Dried Elk Meat
28) Indian Tea
29) Dried Smelt
30) Beef Tallow
31) Wild Rice
32) Dried Salmon Eggs
33) Sand Paper
34) Cotton
References:
Warren, Louis S. Buffalo Bill’s America: William Cody and the Wild West Show. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005.
Pratt, Richard Henry. Battlefield and Classroom: Four Decades with the American Indian, 1867-1904. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1964.
Moses, L.G. Wild West Shows and the Images of American Indians, 1883-1933. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1996.
McNenly, Linda Scarangella. Native Performers in Wild West Shows from Buffalo Bill to Euro Disney. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2012.
Author(s). Wisconsin Magazine of History: Volume 91, number 3, spring 2008. Wisconsin Historical Society, https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/wmh/id/49592/rec/2. Accessed 01/15/2025
Fleming, Candace. Presenting Buffalo Bill: The Man Who Invented the Wild West. Holiday House, 2016.
Hutchens, Alma R. Indian Herbalogy of North America. Shambhala, 1991.