Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 9, Number 13, DeMotte, Jasper County, 16 February 1939 — Traced Directly to Indians [ARTICLE]

Traced Directly to Indians

Poke is an Indian word said to mean blood, which is possibly an allusion to the reddish juice of the fruit or color of the stem. Another suggested derivation is from the word pohk, meaning break, possibly Yeferring to the ease with which the brittle stem breaks. The largest native flower of the water lily tribe is the or Wankapin, meaning in Chippewa, curved, in allusion to the crooked edible tubers of this plant.