Delayed six weeks due to a severe drought that hampered Midwest wild rice production, at-risk teens on Saturday (November 3, 2007) planted several miles of the Dead River near Marquette beating a snowstorm that arrived Monday afternoon.
The groundbreaking Manoomin Project has teamed hundreds of at-risk teens with American Indian guides who have planted over a ton of wild rice since the summer of 2004.
Manoomin means wild rice in Ojibwa.
Wild rice disappeared from Michigan over a century ago and is a vital part of Native American ceremonies and traditions.
“You are the first ones to bring wild rice back to the area,” the teens were told by American Indian guide Dave Anthony of Marquette. “I am pleased that you are here and what you are doing today is very important.”
“This is very, very significant, this is a gift from the creator, it’s food grown on the water,” said Anthony, who attends Northern Michigan University (NMU) and belongs to the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa (Ottawa) Indian based in Harbor Springs, MI. “Wild rice is the original North American grain and is very nutritious.”
The importance of the project was not lost on the teens who picked up a few Ojibwa words.
“Megwiich,” said Danny Carello, 13, of Ishpeming saying “thank you” to nature in Ojibwa while carefully tossing wild rice seeds into a small pond along the Dead River.
Shawn Molda, 15, of Gwinn said he learned that wild rice develops in stages including the “floating stage.”
Anthony taught a special blessing to the teenagers and adults volunteers like Marquette County Juvenile Court child care counselor Jim Rule.
After a prayer, Anthony passed out a small amount of crumbled leaf tobacco to each participant who sprinkled the flakes into the river as a symbol of thanks for the planting.
This year’s planting was delayed from mid-September because wild rice seeds were not available from Wisconsin tribes due to extremely low water levels that have had a major negative effect on this year’s crop. At the last minute, the project obtained wild rice seeds from Minnesota tribes.
Manoomin Project volunteer Tom Reed of Marquette said the at-risk youth volunteer to plant and study wild rice "in lieu of community service."
The teens have planted over 2,100 pounds of wild rice during the past four years at seven aquatic sites. A favorite food of geese and other wildlife, the sensitive crop needs perfect growing conditions to take root.
The teens are taught respect for themselves, nature and American Indian customs.
The project is sponsored by the Superior Watershed Partnership, the Cedar Tree Institute and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC).
"We have representatives of the KBIC tribe at every stage of the Manoomin Project including the tribe's cultural committee, the identification and monitoring of wild rice planting sites, and rituals of tobacco and prayer," said project founder Rev. Jon Magnuson, director of the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette.
"I think it's cutting-edge," Reed said. "We are healing the Earth."
The teens are taught various tribal beliefs and customs, and have the opportunity for religious and spiritual learning - but it is not forced upon the youths.
“Some of the teens were angry just to be there because it was something they had to do,” said Native American Don Chosa a KBIC member who recently moved back to the International Falls, Minnesota area where he belongs to the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa and the tribe harvests wild rice on pristine Nett Lake.
“But as soon as we started and the teens started learning - they started to enjoy it - and by the time they were done with one year planting wild rice they were willing to come even on a volunteer basis the following years,” Chosa said. “We had a good time planting wild rice.”
“They learn how to plant, harvest and cook wild rice and how to take water samples,” Chosa said. “A lot of them hadn’t been outside very much, so for them it was a good experience because it was miles and miles of hiking and mountain climbing.”
Wild rice is used in most Native American events including “naming ceremonies, funerals and all gatherings throughout the year," said Chosa, a former NMU Native American Studies adjunct professor who guided the first three wild rice plantings.
"We have helped plant a food that our ancestors relied on for their survival," said KBIC President and CEO Susan LaFernier. "Because of these plantings we can continue to enjoy this food and remember our ancestors that way."
The Manoomin Project is one of several environment efforts of the Earth Keeper Initiative, a faith-based coalition of adults, university students, and nine faith communities with 140 churches/temples.
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