Leanna Goose, a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, emphasizes the cultural importance of wild rice (manoomin) to her community. As threats from climate change and development jeopardize this vital resource, she highlights the deep respect she has for traditional practices, such as harvesting and processing rice. The article also discusses Indigenous water stewardship in the U.S. and their opposition to harmful projects like Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline, which has a history of leaks and contamination, threatening both water and cultural heritage.
Wild rice is culturally significant to Aniishinabe people here in Minnesota. It's our connection to the land, water and our ancestors...if we were to lose this plant, we would lose a huge chunk of ourselves.
I had so much respect for my ancestors and how hard that work is -to dry the rice, parch it, and winnow it-is a whole process from start to finish.
Native people have been the stewards of the waters in their territories for tens of thousands of years, just as we have been stewards of the land.
Enbridge, a Canadian-based pipeline operator in the Great Lakes, has faced controversy for decades...including the biggest inland oil spill in US history in 1991.
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