Leech Lake Ojibwe - Our Future

Not started

Our Future

The Leech Lake are confident that with good science and proper respect they can keep the wild rice coming back.

Key Terms

Knockers?

Close
Lightweight handmade sticks Ojibwe people use to loosen, or “knock,” wild rice kernels from rice stems.
Tobacco?

Close
A plant with important meaning in traditional Ojibwe culture. Used for spiritual, religious, and ceremonial purposes.

Video Transcript (PDF)

Not started

Explore: Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Seal

Not started

Not started

Not started

Try These Questions

How are the Ojibwe using formal education to pass on knowledge about wild rice?

Studying wild rice

A) Students at Leech Lake Tribal College study wild rice.

Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School

B) Students at Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School learn the history of manoomin.

Learning about the ecology of the rice plant

C) Ojibwe teachers instruct students about the ecology of the rice plant.

All of the above

D) All of the above

The Leech Lake Ojibwe are teaching young people from elementary school through college about wild rice.

Which of the items below is not a reason the Ojibwe parents celebrate Take a Kid Ricing Day?

Take a Kid Ricing Day poster

A) Children can begin earning money while they are still young.

B) Children can understand how to respect the rice and harvest it with good feelings.

C) Parents can pass on cultural values about wild rice to the next generation.

D) None of the above

Take a Kid Ricing Day is not about earning money.

How will preserving wild rice help sustain the Leech Lake community?

Bags of rice

A) It will help the community economically.

Local wildlife

B) It will benefit the local ecosystem.

Cultural gathering

C) It will help the Leech Lake people maintain their culture.

All of the above

D) All of the above

Wild rice provides extra income for community members, provides food and brooding grounds for animals and waterfowl, and its harvest and use are one way that the Ojibwe pass on their traditions.

Submit your answer

Return Home

Choose Images for Story Project

Toggle Favorite “We give students a pretty full understanding of wild rice, and not only the scientific angle, but the cultural and historical angle, and talk about threats also, and what the future is for wild rice.”
Toggle Favorite In the Environmental Studies program at Leech Lake Tribal College, students learn how to preserve wild rice beds. 2010
Toggle Favorite “We have to understand values and we have to respect all things, that I am no greater than that tree, I am no greater than a stone.”
Toggle Favorite At the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig school, students learn Native language and culture. Part of this school’s curriculum is about wild rice. 2010
Toggle Favorite Students in Leech Lake gain traditional knowledge about wild rice that has been passed down for generations as well as scientific information about the plant’s habitat. 2009
Toggle Favorite Wild rice is much more than a commercial crop. It is sacred to the Ojibwe people. It remains, to this day, a key part of the Ojibwe diet, culture, and economy. 2007
Toggle Favorite “A people’s heritage is their past.”
Toggle Favorite By protecting the wild rice, the Leech Lake people are protecting their culture. Children learn about their traditions not only by ricing, but through ceremonies, stories, and dance. 2007
Toggle Favorite “We’ll always have a good rice crop, if we have positive ricers who are out for the right reasons.”

Go To My Story Project

Take Notes for Story Project

Why is it important for this community to educate its young people about this environmental issue?

This interactive experience requires Adobe Flash Player 9 or higher.

What are the hopes this community has for the future of its culture and environment?

This interactive experience requires Adobe Flash Player 9 or higher.

More Info

Toggle Favorite save to use in story project

Steve Smith, instructor, Leech Lake Tribal College

“We give students a pretty full understanding of wild rice, and not only the scientific angle, but the cultural and historical angle, and talk about threats also, and what the future is for wild rice.”
Toggle Favorite save to use in story project

In the Environmental Studies program at Leech Lake Tribal College, students learn how to preserve wild rice beds. 2010
Toggle Favorite save to use in story project

Elaine Fleming, instructor, Leech Lake Tribal College

“We have to understand values and we have to respect all things, that I am no greater than that tree, I am no greater than a stone.”
Toggle Favorite save to use in story project

At the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig school, students learn Native language and culture. Part of this school’s curriculum is about wild rice. 2010
Toggle Favorite save to use in story project

Students in Leech Lake gain traditional knowledge about wild rice that has been passed down for generations as well as scientific information about the plant’s habitat. 2009
Toggle Favorite save to use in story project

Wild rice is much more than a commercial crop. It is sacred to the Ojibwe people. It remains, to this day, a key part of the Ojibwe diet, culture, and economy. 2007
Toggle Favorite save to use in story project

Colleen Wells, archeologist, Leech Lake Heritage Sites Program

“A people’s heritage is their past.”
Toggle Favorite save to use in story project

By protecting the wild rice, the Leech Lake people are protecting their culture. Children learn about their traditions not only by ricing, but through ceremonies, stories, and dance. 2007
Toggle Favorite save to use in story project

Levi Brown, environmental director, Leech Lake Division of Resource Management

“We’ll always have a good rice crop, if we have positive ricers who are out for the right reasons.”

Close