Video summary
The video explores the profound spiritual and physical connection the narrator feels when harvesting wild rice, known as manoomin or "the food that grows on water." Taking place in early September in northern Wisconsin's Lake Superior region, this activity marks the return to the beginning of the annual foraging cycle. For the narrator, wild rice is not merely a staple food but a source of deep nourishment that feeds the body, mind, and spirit, creating a state of joy and bliss that surpasses any other experience on Earth. The harvest is conducted using traditional methods in canoes, where poles are used to knock the ripened grains into the boat while simultaneously leaving some behind to replant the beds for future years.
This practice is deeply rooted in the history and stewardship of the Anishinaabe and Ojibwe peoples, who have managed these rice beds for centuries. The narrator expresses deep gratitude to these original inhabitants and acknowledges that current harvesting regulations are based on traditional ecological knowledge shared by indigenous communities. Through organizations like the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, modern harvesters follow rules that ensure sustainable management of the resource. By participating in this process, individuals become part of a continuous culture that honors a human-plant relationship spanning at least seven hundred years, effectively keeping these ancient traditions and lifeways alive.
The journey from the canoe to processing centers with figures like Bill Burns and Maria Nebola highlights an integrated indigenous food system that fosters a powerful connection to the land. Immersing oneself in this daily practice transforms harvesters into deep stewards of the earth, instilling a core desire to care for and protect the water and soil. Wild rice acts as a gateway to a much deeper relationship with nature, encouraging people to stand strong in their commitment to conservation. This experience is described as healing and nourishing on a fundamental level, reaching the heart of what it means to live in harmony with the environment.
Ultimately, the video serves as an invitation for others to learn about wild rice harvesting and to engage with this sacred practice themselves. The narrator promises to continue returning to harvest, eat, and share the rice, pledging to act as a responsible steward alongside all other humans who care for these waters. This collective effort honors the legacy of the Bad River Reservation and the broader indigenous communities who have safeguarded this resource across many lands. Through gratitude and active participation, the video concludes with a message of unity and respect for manoomin, reinforcing the belief that caring for this plant is essential for maintaining balance and health in both people and the planet.
Read the full video transcript
Out here I feel the most joyous and
connected and often blissful than
anywhere on Earth. [music]
Hello dear friends.
We are out wild ricing. This is called
manoomin or the good berry, the food
that grows on water.
And this is a food that is very special
to me.
The fact that I'm out ricing right now
in early September
means that I have returned to the
beginning
of where the year of foraging began. Out
harvesting wild rice in the late summer,
early fall. This is my staple food and I
ran out much earlier than I would have
liked and I'm so happy to be back out
here harvesting this this food and
medicine that
feeds me in every way that you can
imagine.
Physically, mentally, spiritually.
Out here I feel the most
joyous and connected and often blissful
than anywhere on Earth.
I feel it's a true calling
to be with the wild rice.
You'll see we have knockers. These are
the poles for knocking the rice into the
boat.
My friend Dane is polling. So he's
pushing us along with the push pole that
he recently made and we're out here in a
canoe.
And this is the way that wild ricing has
been done for a very long time.
And I want to give my deepest level of
gratitude to the Anishinaabe people, the
original people of the land where I live
here in what many people call northern
Wisconsin, the Lake Superior region.
But this is land that has been stewarded
for a very long time by the Anishinaabe
or Ojibwe people.
And the reason that we know how to wild
rice is because they have practiced this
for a very long time.
And they have shared this knowledge.
Wild rice is managed largely by GLIFWC,
Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife
Commission.
And so we follow the regulations.
And these regulations are traditional
ecological knowledge.
That whenever we're harvesting,
we're actually also doing a service to
the beds because with each knock,
where we knock rice into the boat, the
canoe is only so wide. And we knock
rice into the water to be planted to
come back next year.
So it's beautiful to get to take part in
this practice.
And to be a part of a culture of people.
I bring my wild rice to Bill Burns and
to Maria Nebola to process the rice. And
so I get to take part in an indigenous
food system that
really keeps these traditions and these
lifeways alive. There's not too many
plants that you get to immerse with all
day and in immersing with it, get to
immerse in an unbroken human-plant
relationship that has been going on for
at least 700 years as far as I know up
here. Very powerful.
Very healing, nourishing
at a such a deep level.
And so I encourage people to learn to
wild rice and go out to wild rice. The
reason why is because wild rice
turns us into deep stewards of this
earth.
It really has the ability to reach us at
such a core way. Where we want to care
for this land and water. We want to
protect it, stand strong.
And the wild rice is for me, it's really
a gateway
into just a much deeper, deeper
relationship and connection with the
earth.
So thank you again to the people of Bad
River Reservation,
to all the Anishinaabe people, all the
indigenous people who have stewarded
this rice across many lands and waters,
and to all the humans out there who are
stewarding wild rice. I'm grateful to
each and every one of you
for the work you're doing and I
promise to be a steward to the wild rice
as well and to keep coming back
harvesting the rice, eating the rice,
sharing the rice.
Thank you, Manoomin.