Description
Our family harvests our Wild Rice in the Minoomin-Giizis (Rice Moon) which lasts from late August through September. We guide our canoes through local, native Wild Rice swaths by “Polling” with a 25ft. cedar poll with a hard wooden crutch. Others in the canoe will “knock” the rice into the canoe with the swift movement of two small cedar sticks called “Rice Knockers”. This method of harvesting Wild Rice has been passed down through the Wise family for generations and is beneficial to the Wild Rice ecosystem as it re-seeds the Wild Rice beds for the next season during the process of harvesting. Also, by managing Beaver populations to maintain optimum water levels in lakes and rivers the germination rate of Wild Rice is enhanced. Our Wild Rice is harvested from several lakes and rivers located throughout Minnesota. Native Wild Rice is known as a good seed in Ojibwe tradition and is a highly culturally significant plant. This amazing plant plays a big role in the Ojibwe story of traveling to the place “where the food grows on the water” and settling here in Minnesota. We are very proud of our Wild Rice and strive to create a quality finished product. We look forward to sharing it with you!
