Each fall, Indigenous harvesters in Manitoba and beyond gather wild rice by canoe, preserving a high-protein grain that’s central to both cultural practices and growing culinary demand.
Stefan Richard reports for CBC News.
In short:
- Manitoba exported $2 million worth of wild rice in 2024, accounting for more than a third of Canada’s total wild rice exports.
- University of Manitoba biologist Az Klymiuk is studying how wild rice can support food production and economic development in Indigenous communities, though harvesting remains labor-intensive.
- At the Owamni restaurant in Minneapolis, wild rice is a kitchen staple, used in vegan dishes and processed using traditional Ojibwe methods that involve dancing on tarps to remove the husks.
Key quote:
“It’s a lot cheaper to go and buy mac and cheese from the store than it is to go out in a canoe and harvest this really protein-rich, antioxidant-rich, wonderful country food.”
— Az Klymiuk, associate professor of biological sciences at the University of Manitoba
Why this matters:
Wild rice, or manoomin, grows in shallow freshwater lakes and wetlands, where it supports biodiversity and water health while serving as a cornerstone of Indigenous food systems. Unlike conventional rice, it is not farmed in paddies but harvested by hand from canoes, making it labor-intensive and vulnerable to environmental pressures such as shifting water levels, invasive species, and wetland degradation. Despite these challenges, wild rice remains nutritionally rich and culturally vital, especially for Anishinaabe communities. As interest in Indigenous ingredients rises in North American kitchens, so does the need to protect the ecosystems and traditions that sustain them.
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