Description of Wild
RiceWild rice grows as 8 to 12 foot tall reeds in 3 to 8 foot deep flowing water in what is now Wisconsin, Minnesota, and marshes north of the great lakes. There are thousands of different varieties, each growing in its own particular niche of depth, temperature, mud, and water quality. Wild rice is very sensitive to the environmental conditions of it's niche. Modern attempts to artificially transplant wild rice have all but failed due to it's very tight growth restrictions.
For a more detailed descriptions check C&G Enterprises, a Minnesota commercial wild rice producer.
Rice is harvested traditionally by two people in a
canoe. One person would pole the canoe through the reed beds while the other
did the actual harvesting. The harvesting is done by bending the reeds down
over the canoe and hitting them with a sharp blow from a wooden rod. The blow
will cause most of the ripe grain to be released, but leaves the reed and green
grain undamaged. With this fashion of release, the grain remains intact. Much
of the grain falls into the canoe, but some is intentionally allowed to return
to the water as seed to replenish the reed bed.
When the rice is initially brought back to the camp, it is full of water that needs to be removed immediately to keep the rice fresh and prevent rot. This was accomplished by digging a shallow pit and starting a hot fire. A drying rack, constructed of green branches and grass was placed over the fire pit, and the rice was spread over it until most of the moisture had been evaporated off.
The rice was then placed in a container, put over another fire, and stirred constantly to allow it to heat slowly, sap the remaining moisture, and loosen the husks.
4. WinnowingThe rice was then tossed from bark trays into the air to separate the chaff from the rice, leaving only the heavier grains. The hardest and most resilient of the chaff is separated from the rice by placing it in a pit lined with skins. Someone would then walk or dance on the rice lightly to crack the chaff off without breaking the grains. The rice and last chaff were then separated and both used as food products.
Wild Rice was a valuable seasonal food source to the
prehistoric Indians of the Minnesota region, as well as in much of the northern
Midwest, and species of it can be found as far south as Texas. Because of it's
strength within it's niche, very little energy was required to maintain the
beds of rice which creates an abundant food supply. The artifacts of ricing
have been discovered in many archaeological sites across Minnesota, including
the remains of ricing pits, drying fire pits, and obvious annual occupations
over many seasons starting as early as the Late Woodland culture at about 800
AD. It is believed by some that the adaptation of wild rice as a major food
source caused a population explosion in this region.
As late as historical contact, native Minnesotans were engaging in ricing as a survival activity. Even to this day, ricing is done in much the same manner by Indians of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, but damming of waterways and pollution have caused the destruction of many of the fragile beds, as well as commercial wild rice harvesting, which tends to destroy the existing reeds and leave little for replenishment.
If all this talk about eating wild rice has made you hungry, check out Wild Rice Pilaf!