Armed with bows and arrows and clubs, the Sioux Indians came to Mole Lake, Wisconsin, in 1806 for one thing. Determined not to let them have it, the Chippewa were prepared for the attack. The fighting grew bloody and deadly. When it ended, nearly 500 Indians had lost their lives. But to the Chippewa, the battle at Mole Lake had been worth the sacrifice. They had succeeded in securing their manoomin (which means “good berry”)—or as we know it, wild rice.
Why would anyone fight over wild rice? To the Sioux, the rice beds that filled the area lakes and rivers meant plenty of food for them to eat and trade. However, the Chippewa had another important reason to fight for the rice. According to legend, their creator Gichi-Manidoo had guided them to Mole Lake, the place where they would find the “food that grows on water.” They couldn’t let the Sioux take away what had been handed to them by the spirits.
Besides, without their rice beds, the Chippewa would have had little to talk about. For them, wild rice wasn’t just a food staple; it was a part of everyday conversation. They discussed things like whether the crop was bountiful that season, how many accidents occurred on the water while collecting the rice, and what games and dances were set for the annual rice harvest. Even today, the Chippewa (now known as the Ojibwe or Ojibway) incorporate wild rice into their daily conversations—often with stories of past ricing seasons.
Among the many other details surrounding the history of wild rice, below are some of the most noteworthy:
Wild Rice was Gathered by Women in Canoes
Here’s how it worked: A pair of women set out in a canoe. Using a pole, one woman had the job of pushing the canoe through the thick, grassy water. The other woman would bend the rice stalks over the canoe with a stick and, with another stick, knock off the kernels until the canoe filled up. (Kernels that fell back into the water served as seed for the next year.) Even before they gathered the rice, the women had an important job. They went into the fields and bound stalks to mark as theirs.
The Chippewa Moved to Camps to Harvest Wild Rice
Traditionally, the month of September was called “ricing moon,” the time when the Chippewa left their homes to set up camps near the lakes for the harvest. For weeks, they spent their days gathering and processing the wild rice. Processing included drying the rice in the sun, parching it over a fire, and separating the hulls from the seeds. The Chippewa celebrated the end of the harvest with a festival of thanksgiving. During the festival, they cooked and ate the first finished rice of the season.
Wild Rice Played an Important Role in the Fur Trade
Because it was such a valuable food staple, wild rice became a necessity at trading posts. Besides being used for barter, the grain also helped feed canoers who transported furs to and from the posts. At the posts, the rice was measured out in Indian containers, such as fawn skins or cedar bark bags. A fawn skin of wild rice equaled about two bushels and was worth four dollars or two beaver skins.
Wild Rice Helped the Chippewa Kill Waterfowl
Wild birds, ducks, and geese attracted to wild rice as a food source. Hidden in the thick plants where the hungry birds couldn’t see them, the Indians used clubs to kill the birds as they hovered over the rice beds to feed. According to the Chippewa, waterfowl that ate wild rice were of the finest quality—fat and delicious!
A Small Handful of Wild Rice Fed an Entire Chippewa Family
The reason: the rice swells when put in water. Believe it or not, the Chippewa never got bored with wild rice because they prepared it in many different ways. For example, they cooked the rice into a paste and ate it in place of bread. They used it as a thickener for broth. They also ate wild rice for breakfast, with maple syrup and cranberries. They even popped it like popcorn when they were away from home.
Unfortunately, many factors led to the decline of wild rice harvesting, including the building of dams, storms, pollution, and boat traffic. In the late 1960s, farmers discovered they could successfully grow wild rice in man-made flooded fields, where they could control the environment and harvest the crop using machines. But over 700 lakes in Minnesota still contain significant wild rice. Today the sacred grain of the Chippewa remains a popular commodity among people everywhere.
For wild rice recipes, see Classic Wild Rice Recipes.
Sources:
Crownhart, C.H. “Upper Wisconsin in History and Romance: Indian Foods—Wild Rice.” Wisconsin Historical Society.
Densmore, Frances. Chippewa Customs. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1979.
Hauser, Susan Carol. Wild Rice Cooking: History, Natural History, Harvesting, and Lore with 80 Recipes. New York: The Lyons Press, 2000.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Seely, Ron. “Sokaogon Chippewa Dedicated to Protecting Rice Beds.” Wisconsin State Journal. 8 October 2003.
Vennum, Thomas, Jr. Wild Rice and the Ojibway People. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1988.
Warren, William. History of the Ojibway People. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1984.
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