University of Wisconsin - Extension

MADISON, Wis.—Wild rice, the only major cereal grain native to North America, is plentiful in northern Wisconsin and the Upper Great Lakes region of the U.S and Canada. Residents of the region know the economic and cultural value of traditional wild rice, which is harvested sustainably on lakes by hand and often processed using traditional methods. In Wisconsin, there are seventy major rice fields in thirteen northern counties.

Called manoomin, or ‘the good seed,’ by the Ojibwe and Chippewa tribes of the Anishinaabek culture, wild rice has played a role in the cultural and spiritual traditions of the region’s indigenous people for thousands of years. In the Anishinaabek oral tradition, wild rice was a gift from the creator, appearing at the culmination of an ancient migration event through the Upper Great Lakes. As a low-fat source of protein and carbohydrates, the nutritional value of wild rice is greater than most cereals.

In a landmark gathering, a recent conference brought people from throughout the region together to share their knowledge of wild rice and to create a regional collaboration. Representatives from Native American communities, universities, community colleges, nonprofit groups, tribal and local governments, and federal and state agencies attended the Manoomin/Wild Rice Restoration and Preservation Conference, on August 7-10 in Watersmeet, Michigan, where the Lake Superior, Mississippi River and Lake Michigan basins converge.

The conference was a pivotal step in building a regional network and combining efforts toward a common goal—to restore and manage sustainable rice populations for their ecological, nutritional and cultural value.

Patrick Robinson, conference co-chair, emphasized the importance of this opportunity for people to coalesce around the many issues related to wild rice. Robinson, University of Wisconsin-Extension Environmental Restoration Theme Coordinator for the Great Lakes Regional Water Program, says,

“We truly hope that this conference further stimulates ongoing collaborative efforts and generates future cooperation. It will take a community effort built upon shared understanding to ensure that wild rice is not only part of our present, but also a thriving part of our future.”

Conference participants explored wild rice beds on a field trip to Lac Vieux Desert, a 4200-acre lake, which the Lake Superior Chippewa call Katikitegoning. The lake is the headwaters of the Wisconsin River and home to a restored harvestable population of wild rice. Members of the local Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and invited presenters from other Anishinaabek communities conducted morning ceremonies to help participants understand the deep spiritual connections the Anishinaabek have to the Great Lakes region, its landscape and natural resources, including water, wild rice and the rest of the spirit world.

Scott Herron, conference co-chair, explained the unique perspective taken for this coalition building event, “We made sure to level the playing field up front at the conference by educating all participants on the equally valid learning systems of Scientific Ecological Knowledge (SEK) and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). By elevating the TEK based oral tradition and field observation of traditional ricers to the SEK based hypothesis driven research, we created an extremely open, positive, and culturally relevant dialog between groups of people who do not typically see eye to eye, let alone communicate.”

Herron, an ecologist and ethnobotanist, who teaches for Ferris State University and the University of Michigan Biological Station, was pleased with the communication between stakeholder groups across state lines and the willingness of groups to pledge their expert help in future wild rice coalition events.

In addition to discussion and planning of a regional collaboration, participants learned about wild rice identification, harvesting, management of abundant and threatened species, restoration, processing, recipes, and the role wild rice plays in Ojibwe culture and spirituality. The conference also focused on the need to sustain a traditional ricing culture. Ricing is a community and cultural event for the Anishinaabek and today they are working to pass these traditions on to the youth.

Monica White, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College Extension Director, says, “It was amazing to see and hear the positive responses to our curriculum, ‘Living By The Seasons,’ in which Ojibwe wild rice teachings are discussed and taught to younger generations."

Other sessions focused on important issues such as the decline of the plant’s native range and threats posed by pollution, genetic contamination and patenting. Biotechnology and genetic manipulation have raised concerns about protecting the biodiversity of wild rice. To the Anishinaabek, it is unethical to genetically engineer a sacred plant, which provides food, medicine and spiritual healing. The granting of exclusive patent rights to private companies or individuals for wild rice cultivars or methods of processing is at odds with the Anishinaabek worldview, in which natural resources belong to all people.

“There is often conflict when worldviews come together,” says Rebecca Power, UW-Extension Great Lakes Regional Water Quality Liaison. ”Our task as learners is to meet this conflict with respect and curiosity. The people participating in the conference came with this spirit. It was an opportunity to exchange ways of knowing about wild rice among tribal communities, universities, agencies and others. These groups are committed to continuing this conversation, and UW-Extension is committed to continuing to support it.”

"In the upcoming months, the conference planning committee will reconvene to discuss the information received from participants during interactive sessions and through evaluations,” says Robinson. “The committee will use the participant information to help determine the next steps that should be taken on the path toward developing sustainable wild rice populations across the Great Lakes Region."

For presentation descriptions, speaker biographies and other information from the wild rice conference, visit http://www.uwex.edu/ces/regionalwaterquality/wildrice/index.htm.