RESTORATION IS REPAIRING RELATIONSHIPS: BRIDGING INDIGENOUS AND WESTERN SCIENCES TO ASSESS THE SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION OF WILD RICE (ZIZANIA PALUSTRIS) ON KEWEENAW BAY INDIAN COMMUNITY HOMELANDS

Manoomin (wild rice, Zizania palustris) is an ecologically and culturally significant plant relative for the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC). Historically, manoomin was present across much of the Great Lakes, however, their presence has declined since the early 1900s and, by 1990, virtually dis...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Reed-VanDam, Cassandra M.
Format: Text
Language:unknown
Published: Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech 2024
Subjects:
manoomin
Anishinaabe
restoration
medicine wheel
food sovereignty
traditional ecological knowledge
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Indian
anishina*
Online Access:https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/etdr/1720
https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/context/etdr/article/2882/viewcontent/Reed_VanDam__Cassandra.pdf
https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/context/etdr/article/2882/filename/0/type/additional/viewcontent/00_Publishing_Agreement_9_2021.pdf
Description
Summary:Manoomin (wild rice, Zizania palustris) is an ecologically and culturally significant plant relative for the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC). Historically, manoomin was present across much of the Great Lakes, however, their presence has declined since the early 1900s and, by 1990, virtually disappeared within KBIC homelands. Employing ethnography, surveys, focus groups, and conversations with Ojibwa knowledge holders, this research defined successful manoomin restoration for KBIC and developed socio-ecological attributes and indicators to assess restoration presented in the Medicine Wheel Framework for Manoomin Restoration. Surface water, sediment, and pore water samples at six different manoomin sites were analyzed to contribute to a comprehensive database on manoomin conditions and to test the feasibility of the Framework. The Framework offers visual insight into how balanced attributes are between Teachings, Ecosystem Relationships, Response to Challenges, and Manoomin Health, offering a model to bridge Indigenous and Western science to assess manoomin restoration efforts.

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