From Manomin to ‘Wild’ Rice and Back Again: Understanding the Transformations of a Native Ontario Grain and Indigenous Cultural Resurgence

Dr. Martha Dowsley, Dr. Jill Taylor-Hollings and Dr. Keira Loukes

This project was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and conducted in in partnership with Obishikokaang (Lac Seul First Nation) and members of
Alderville First Nation in Ontario. Manomin (Manoomin in Alderville) is a native Canadian
grain (Zizania palustris) that was the main carbohydrate food for many Indigenous people in
Ontario for many generations. However, changes to the landscape, especially the construction of dams, have destroyed much of the habitat of this plant. This project is a knowledge synthesis of the archaeological evidence and ethnohistorical information about manomin in Ontario, along
with an introduction to the cultural traditions and local histories of our partner First Nations. It
serves as a starting point for further investigations into the relationship between people and
manomin in Ontario.

Full Report - click here