Manoomin

Wild Rice or Manoomin is one of Minnesota’s greatest natural resources. For many years, nearly all of the wild rice produced in the world came from Minnesota, and most still does. This sacred plant is a traditional staple food source that provides irreplaceable cultural and nutritional benefits to Native Americans across the state.

We’ve been fortunate enough to witness and to learn how wild rice is harvested, processed, and used in Anishinaabe culture. Wild rice has been devastated over the years and our state's wild rice standard is not being enforced. Many fear that these proposed sulfide-ore copper mining projects would hurt what remains of our state's wild rice and would further harm native people's ability to practice the sacred traditions that their ancestors have passed down to them.

When we started this project we had envisioned a film celebrating northern Minnesota’s outdoor recreation scene. Needless to say, the focus has changed. One of the most important themes the film now seeks to highlight is the importance of protecting our state's resources to aid the efforts of preserving Indigenous cultures; something we’ve found hasn’t been covered enough when discussing the far-reaching impacts of sulfide-ore copper mining.