Can wild rice rebound in the Keweenaw?
For a living being to grow and thrive, it must have the right conditions. This sounds basic, but at times it is hard to achieve in our modern world. Manoomin, wild rice in the Ojibwa language, is not a crop, but a living being with a deep spiritual, historical and cultural meaning to the people who first settled in the Great Lakes region.
Wild rice growing in a lake. Photo courtesy Roz Hawley, Getty Images.
Starting in the early to mid-1900s, Mamoonin (“the food that grows on the water”) became increasingly scarce due to the impact of conventional farming, mining extraction, and deforestation. Wild rice needs clean, shallow, slow-moving water, most of which were lost to the new industrial demands. Wild rice is also a food source that is not harvested once; the entire crop doesn’t mature at one time but rather must be harvested multiple times throughout the harvest season. It’s popular to talk of “slow food” currently.
Watching Manoomin being traditionally harvested by canoe—slowly moving through the tall grass, hearing the rhythmic “clack,” “clack” of the harvest sticks and the murmured “miigwech,” “miigwech” (“thank you,” “thank you”) from the harvester as the seed heads that are ripe fall into the boat—reconnects us to the sacred nature of land and food.
Cassandra Reed-VanDam, who was interviewed for this article, completed her master’s thesis on working with KBIC (Keweenaw Bay Indian Community) on their wild rice restoration guidance document.
Processing wild rice at the 2023 KBIC Manoomin Camp. Photo courtesy Cassandra Reed-Van Dam.
“The focus is not just planting seeds, but most importantly, the cultural practices,” VanDam explained. Not a tribal member herself, she described her experiences working alongside tribal members on behalf of the rice as “humbling, and inspiring, and welcoming.” A reminder that when we meet each other with respect, an open mind, and a willingness to learn, more than rice seeds are planted. In fact, every Fall, KBIC holds Mamoonin Camp, and all are welcome to attend. There are a great many resources available online for a deeper dive into wild rice and other indigenous foods, including KBIC’s website.
For everyone who loves the U.P. there are also small ways we can participate in helping Manoomin as we go about our days. Here are just a few:
Think about the water surrounding you as a living being worthy of protection. The People of the Heart Water Walk is a powerful way to reconnect with the water as a sacred source of life and not a natural resource.
If you enjoy boating on Lake Superior or any inland lakes, be aware that what might just look like grass could be a bed of wild rice struggling to gain hold. Avoid disrupting such stands of grass and slowly pass to avoid large waves in your wake.
If you are someone with waterfront property that you think could sustain wild rice, be sure to check with the KBIC Natural Resources Department to ensure the seed you obtain is the right type for our area. Some wild rice on the market is commercially developed and GMO modified and could do more harm than good to the local strains.
If you want an in-depth look at the long-term plan for remediation you can download the Keweenaw Bay Hazard Remediation Plan here. While some challenges to reviving wild rice in the Keweenaw are caused by global climate changes that we cannot control from a local vantage point, how we choose to live on and with the land and water surrounding us is vital to all of our well-being.