Manoomin

Manoomin, or Wild Rice, is a staple of Anishinaabeg culture. It is believed that wild rice was given to the Anishinaabeg people by a spiritual entity. The Creator told the people that their migration West would be over when they came upon the "food which grows upon the water" (LaDuke). And indeed it was. Wild rice has become a community tie. The activity of harvesting the rice brings the people together and creates a firm sense of community and tradition that is purely Ojibwe (savewildrice.org). The Anishinaabeg people see wild rice as more than just sustenance (which is wild rice's major role), they see it as a spiritual food, one that feeds the soul (savewildrice.org).

The Anishinaabeg draw a major part of their identity from the harvesting and consumption of wild rice. The myths and legends of wild rice go back in their history to more than a 1000 years ago (savewildrice.org). One myth is about a man who failed to kill a deer during his hunt. In his dismay, he returned to his campsite and found a duck sitting on him black cooking kettle. He approached the duck and it flew away. Looking into the pot, he saw the rice floating in it, but didn't yet know what it was. He ate the soup and loved it so much that he followed the path the duck had taken and found a lake full of the rice. He saw all the birds that were eating the rice and knew that if he ever failed again to kill a deer, he could still find food for his family (savewildrice.org). The fact that this story exists displays the importance of this food to the Anishinaabeg people.

Wild rice, or manoomin, is an important element in Ojibwe people's survival and cultural identity. They see the wild rice as a food that is uniquely their's (LaDuke). For hundreds of years, manoomin has been intertwined with their everyday lives, from the harvesting season to the survival in harsh winters. It's a gathering point for the community and a tie to their ancestral past.

LaDuke, Winona. Manoomin Wild Rice, Biodiversity and Bio Piracy. 2003. 7 March 2009. ibrary/uploadedfiles/ISSUE_BRIEF_Manoomin_Wild_Rice_Biodiversity_an.
doc+manoomin&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=us>.

Save Wild Rice "Anishinaabeg Culture and the History of Manoomin." 2005. Savewildrice.org. 7 March 2009. <http://www.savewildrice.org/history>.