ES doctoral student Jared Ten Brink engages local residents in Indigenous wild rice practices—an extension of dissertation work
Bridge Detroit reported on an effort by Indigenous people to bring wild rice traditions back to Detroit. Manoomin, or wild rice, used to grow abundantly in the area. Sacred and central to Great Lakes tribes’ origin stories, manoomin has largely disappeared due to development, pollution and other factors.
On Sunday, September 22, Historic Fort Wayne hosted a rice camp where participants crafted wooden sticks for wild rice harvesting, “danced” on the rice in moccasins to remove the hulls, and shared a meal.
Educational Studies doctoral student Jared Ten Brink, who has been developing a curriculum centered on Indigenous culture and practices as part of his dissertation work, played a role in this event. The workshop is an extension of the curriculum developed in partnership with tribal elders for Ten Brink’s dissertation. “We will be engaging in many of the same practices that were the central focus of the curriculum,” said Ten Brink.
A major part of the curriculum is focused on the importance of harvesting and processing wild rice and traditional ways to help preserve the ecology of the plant.
Ten Brink said, “Traditionally processing like this would happen alongside the river or lake, where the rice was harvested. And most rice camps occur on reservations as part of tribal, cultural events. This is the first time that I know of something like this happening in Detroit, cultural practices from the reservations to the city.”
“It’s hard to really understand something if you can’t actually get your hands into it and do it, so this is a great opportunity where we can bring this to people who wouldn’t otherwise necessarily be able to have this experience,” said Ten Brink.
Detroit Bridge reports that at the state level, efforts are being made to regrow wild rice and recognize its importance. Last year, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation making wild rice the state’s official native grain, the first state to designate a native grain. In November, more than 70 groups from across the state gave input on a draft of the Michigan Tribal-State Manoomin Stewardship Plan, a joint partnership between the Michigan Wild Rice Initiative and U-M Water Center, funded with a $100,000 state grant from 2022.