SY020-0011
First, we must consider Manoomin (Psiŋ, wild rice, Zizania palustris): Emergent understandings of meaningful research and relationships in tribal-university partnership centering Manoomin
Wednesday, 9 December 2020
Poster
Madeline Nyblade1, Hannah Jo King2, Mōhala Aiona3, Mark Bellcourt4, Jeremy Bloomquist5, Perry Bunting6, Eric Chapman7, Jamie Colvin8, Karen Diver9, Diana M Dalbotten10, Michael Dockry2, McKaylee Duquain11, Joe Graveen12, Katherine Hagsten13, Kari Hedin14, Susannah Howard15, Tom Howes16, John Johnson Sr.17, Shannon Kesner18, Erik Kojola19, Roger LaBine20, Dan Larkin11, Laura Matson21, Melonee Montano22, Seth Moore23, Amy Myrbo24, G. H. Crystal Ng25, Michael Northbird26, Rich Robinson13, Meghan Porter27, Cara M Santelli1, Riley Schmitter2, Nancy Schuldt28, Robert Shimek29, Allison Smart30, Donovan Strong31, Nizhoni Tallas32, Tyler Tran1, Josh Torgeson1, Sirena Torres33, Darren Vogt34 and Alexander Waheed2, (1)University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, United States, (2)University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, United States, (3)University of San Francisco, San Fransisco, CA, United States, (4)University of Minnesota Twin Cities, CFANS Office for Diversity and Inclusion, Minneapolis, United States, (5)St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, Environmental and Natural Resources Department, Webster, WI, United States, (6)Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Environmental Programs, Onamia, United States, (7)Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Natural Resources, Lac du Flambeau, United States, (8)Haskell Indian Nations University, Lawrence, KS, United States, (9)University of Arizona, Native Nations Institute, Tucson, United States, (10)University of Minnesota Twin Cities, St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, Minneapolis, MN, United States, (11)University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Minneapolis, United States, (12)Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Wild Rice Cultural Enhancement Program, Lac du Flambeau, WI, United States, (13)Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Cass Lake, MN, United States, (14)Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Office of Water Protection, Cloquet, United States, (15)Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Shawnee, United States, (16)Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Natural Resources Program, Cloquet, United States, (17)Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Lac du Flambeau, WI, United States, (18)Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Resource Management - Environmental Program, Cloquet, United States, (19)University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Sociology, Minneapolis, United States, (20)Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Watersmeet, MI, United States, (21)University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Geography, Minneapolis, United States, (22)Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, Odanah, WI, United States, (23)Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage, MN, United States, (24)University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States, (25)University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Department of Earth Science, Minneapolis, MN, United States, (26)Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Environmental Program, Cass Lake, MN, United States, (27)Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, Inc., Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Epidemiology Center, Minneapolis, United States, (28)Fond Du Lac, Environmental Program, Cloquet, United States, (29)White Earth Band of Ojibwe, Ogema, MN, United States, (30)Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Manistee, MI, United States, (31)Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, Nett Lake, United States, (32)Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, United States, (33)Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA, United States, (34)1854 Treaty Authority, Duluth, United States
Abstract:
Manoomin, the Ojibwe word for wild rice (Psiŋ in Dakota, Zizania palustris in Latin), grows in shallow lakes and streams and provides physical, spiritual, and cultural sustenance as a sacred food and relative for Anishinaabe, Dakota, and other Indigenous peoples across the Great Lakes region of North America. Manoomin abundance across North America has unfortunately been declining due to multiple environmental stressors since the onset of Euro-American colonization. Yet when it comes to Manoomin stewardship, Indigenous voices have not been adequately involved in either university research or state decision-making. In 2018, an interdisciplinary group from the University of Minnesota came together with natural resource managers from tribes and inter-tribal organizations to study Manoomin within its socio-environmental context. The collaborative that formed was given the Ojibwe name: Kawe Gidaa-naanaagadawendaamin Manoomin—or First, We Must Consider Manoomin. Our deepening understanding of Manoomin across cultural worldviews is beginning to guide restoration efforts for both Manoomin and its socio-ecological environment, including the restoration of tribal, state, and university relationships. In this collaboration, we are learning how tribal knowledge and Western biophysical measurements can together inform the geochemical analysis and the ecohydrologic models of culturally significant Manoomin waterbodies. Additionally, through reflections on our two-years of university-tribal collaboration and through interviews and surveys of tribal agency staff, Minnesota state officials, non-tribal Manoomin harvesters, and researchers and students on our team, we are understanding a wide diversity of perspectives and relationships with Manoomin. We will share key questions, challenges, and insights that have emerged for us about how to protect Manoomin and engage in inter-cultural, interdisciplinary research that supports long-term resource protection and tribal sovereignty.
