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Wild Rice
- 1. The Sacred Harvest: Wild Rice (aquatic grass)
- 2. Wild Rice
- 3. Teachings of the Seven Prophets: The Seven Fires: The First Fire
- 4. Manoomin, called "wild rice" outside the Ojibwe culture.
- 8. Wild Rice sold for $20 a pound in the past, but now sells for about $2 since it is now cultivated on farms. Hand Harvested Wild Rice can still be purchased at $10-$15 a pound…many believe the taste is worth the price difference.
- 9. Thank You for Listening Are there any questions?
- 10. References • The Sacred Harvest: Ojibway Wild Rice Gathering. by Gordon Regguinti. • http://www.wabanaki.com/seven_fires_prophecy.ht m • http://www.manoomin.com/Harvesting.html • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B5nP21eq-k • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_rice • http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/ar ticle/305/ • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jTAqpMvSgs
Editor's Notes
- Wild rice (also called Canada rice, Indian rice, and water oats) are four species of grasses forming the genus Zizania, and the grain which can be harvested from them. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both North America and China. While it is now a delicacy in North America, the grain is eaten less in China,[1]:165 where the plant's stem is used as a vegetable.Wild rice is not directly related to Asian rice (Oryza sativa), whose wild progenitors are O. rufipogon and O. nivara, although they are close cousins, sharing the tribe Oryzeae. Wild rice grains have a chewy outer sheath with a tender inner grain that has a slightly vegetal taste.[2]The plants grow in shallow water in small lakes and slow-flowing streams; often, only the flowering head of wild rice rises above the water. The grain is eaten by dabbling ducks and other aquatic wildlife, as well as humans.
- Seven prophets came to the Anishinabe. They came at a time when the people were living a full and peaceful life on the North Eastern coast of North America. These prophets left the people with seven predictions of what the future would bring. Each of the prophecies was called a fire and each fire referred to a particular era of time that would come in the future. Thus, the teachings of the seven prophets are now called the "Seven Fires".The first prophet said to the people,"In the time of the First Fire, the Anishinabe nation will rise up and follow the sacred shell of the Midewiwin Lodge. The Midewiwin Lodge will serve as a rallying point for the people and its traditional ways will be the source of much strength. The Sacred Megis will lead the way to the chosen ground of the Anishinabe. You are to look for a turtle shaped island that is linked to the purification of the earth. You will find such an island at the beginning and end of your journey. There will be seven stopping places along the way. You will know the chosen ground has been reached when you come to a land where food grows on water. If you do not move you will be destroyed."
- has played a central role in tribal life. It has spiritual attributes, and its discovery is recorded in legends. It is used in ceremonies and as a major food source. Traditionally, its harvest promoted social interaction in late summer each year. In August our people moved to their manoomin camps for harvest. Once manoomin ripened most energy was focused on harvesting. Manoomin was our main food source.
- Harvesting wild rice is also called knocking the rice. Canoes are the best watercraft to use because their shape and smoothness causes the least harm to the rice plant. The only tools needed for harvesting manoomin are those required to move the canoe through the plants and ricing sticks to thresh the kernels into the canoe. Harvesters used canoe paddles to get to the wild rice beds, but long poles were used to move through the rice beds. These traditional forked poles were used because they protected the plants' root systems. Every harvester owned a pair of ricing sticks, also called knockers. The sticks measured about three feet in length. Lightweight wood was necessary for making the knockers so the ricer's arms would not tire, and the plant would not be damaged. A very smooth and light stick, hardly noticeable in the hand, was desired.
- Freshly harvested rice must be dried almost as soon as it comes off the lake If not, it tends to mold quickly. Rice was carried to the campsites in bark trays where it was to be spread out to dry. Rice was carried to the campsites in bark trays where it was to be spread out to dry. Freshly harvested rice continues to ripen, but must have air, sun, and sometimes heat to rid it of moisture before roasting. Rice was dried on woven mats, animal skins, layers of grass or sheets of birch bark sewn together called apakwaan. While spread out, the rice was picked over to remove pieces of stalks, leaves, and insects. If all the rice could not be dried immediately, it was preserved in its green state by keeping it in water for up to a week. Holes were dug in the soil by lakes, and rice stored this way in earlier times.Parching: Our ancestors originally parched rice using woven rush mats and scaffolds. A stick scaffolding that spanned the fireplace supported the mats. The rice was turned constantly until roasted brown. The mats were woven tightly, making it difficult for the rice to fall through. It is said that these mats would glow red in this process. As the kernels separate from the seed shells in parching, the grain takes on a golden, then brownish yellow hue, and then changes to a glossy, dark brown to black color. After European contact, large cast iron kettles acquired through trade were used for parching. The kettle was placed over a kindling wood fire, and the rice added to the kettle. Once over the fire, it was stirred constantly so it would not scorch. The rice would pop like popcorn if it was not stirred.
- Hulling After parching, the manoomin was hulled to remove the tight fitting chaff from the rice kernel. The traditional method for this involved hard labor. A small pit was dug in the earth, and the manoomin was "danced" with specialmoccasins. An average treading pit measured about 18 inches in depth and two to three feet in diameter. The sides were lined with wooden slats, and a block of wood was placed at the bottom. In Ojibwe the pit is called a bootaagan. After European contact, wooden and then metal buckets were used in this process. The pit was lined with deer hide. The moccasins had no beadwork on them. The bottom of the moccasins could not touch the ground because they were involved in processing this food. The moccasins were knee high to protect the huller's legs from the sharp barbs that are on the hulls. Proper treading required great strength and was difficult. To assist in this process, two poles forming a V-shaped railing were erected for the huller to hold onto while he or she danced on the rice, preventing too much weight from being placed on the rice.Winnowing Hulled manoomin was cleaned of its chaff before being stored or cooked. Traditionally, the rice would be taken to high ground or a rock outcropping near a lake so the wind could aid in this process. For winnowing our people used a birch bark tray called nooshkaachinaagan. The birch bark was heated, cut, folded, shaped then sewn with basswood fiber. The rim was made of ash and lashed to the edge of the tray. A covering was placed on the ground, and the rice gently tossed in the air. With the action of the tosser and the aid of the wind, the chaff was blown away and the rice kernels fell back in the winnowing basket. This method also helped grade the rice. The chaff blew away, the broken rice fell on the covering on the ground, and the full kernels remain on the tray. Once cleaned the rice was ready for storage.
- Wild Rice is now cultivated on farms in many parts of the country. You can still buy hand harvested wild rice from Ojibwa Tribe members. The tribe is allowed to buy licenses to harvest wild rice on Leech Lake. Only those who live on the reservation can buy these licenses for $2. In the 1950s, University of Minnesota researchers decided it was time to liberate the rice from the indigenous people. So they set out to domesticate wild rice. A university scientist named Ervin Oelke began the process, using germ plasm collected from twenty-four natural stands within the 1837 treaty area. In effect, what the Creator gave to the Anishinaabeg has become a profit-making enterprise for others. These domesticated varieties are engineered to ripen at the same time and, with a harder hull, can be harvested mechanically. They are cultivated in paddies, flooded fields that are drained to allow access with a combine. By 1968, Minnesota’s paddy wild rice production already represented some 20 percent of the state’s yield. This increase in production, along with growing national demand for wild rice and subsequent interest from corporations such as Uncle Ben’s, Green Giant, and General Foods, permanently altered the market for traditionally harvested wild rice. Lake rice could no longer compete with the mass-manufactured paddy crop. The wholesale wild rice price dropped from $4.44 per pound in 1967 to $2.68 a pound in 1976, destabilizing the wild rice economy of the Ojibwe. Now wild rice is grown in many states and marketed as “real wild rice.”