Harvesting

What You Might Not Know About Manoomin (Northern Wild Rice)

September 8, 2026

1. It’s the Seed of an Aquatic Grass (Not a True Rice)

Manoomin has the chewy texture and nutty flavour of rice, but it’s actually the edible seed of a tall, aquatic grass. It only looks like rice when it’s finished growing. It starts out below the water’s surface. In late spring, it sends up thin, green blades that lie flat and look like patches of floating grass. Throughout summer, the plants develop flowers and grow taller, reaching up to 10 feet out of the water, toward the sky.

By early fall, the flowers develop into the dark kernels that are ready for harvest.

2. It Sustains the Boreal Forest (And is Ideal for Hunting)

Manoomin stands provide food and shelter for an abundance of wildlife, including millions of resident and migratory birds, and ducks, geese, and muskrats. The rice beds are also good places to hunt because they attract waterfowl, beaver, and moose, which are traditional food sources for Anishinaabeg. The shallow edges of the rice stands are also important as they provide the perfect habitat for the medicinal plant wiikenzh (sweet flag).

3. It Kept Early Traders Alive (And Could Fetch up to $20 a Pound in 1980)

Long before it was considered a gourmet food, traders and settlers traded guns and axes for manoomin. They needed the nutrition to help get through the cold winters. Hundreds of years later, manoomin’s value was still strong. In 1980, “true” manoomin harvested by hand was rare and could be sold for up to $20 a pound. Today, wild rice harvested by machines in man-made paddies is readily available and less expensive than manoomin harvested by hand. Prices vary but machine harvested wild rice averages $10/lb while hand harvested can be found for more than three times that price.

The Indigenous Environmental Network states that harvesting manoomin by hand is an act of Indigenous food soveereignty for Anishinaabeg:

“The act of getting together to harvest, and roast, or ‘parch’ manoomin by hand over a fire, is a revolutionary act in times of industrial, easy, and cheap food that disconnects us from our environment and from our community.”
Indigenous Environmental Network

4. It Is Processed Using Fire, Moccasins, and the Wind

It takes numerous, laborious steps and a lot of traditional knowledge to get manoomin from the water to the canoe to the community. Once harvested, the rice has to be dried by heating it over an open fire and lightly charring the husks without burning the grain inside. Next comes dancing the rice—stepping on it with moccasins and twisting side-to-side to separate the husks from the kernels. And finally, tossing the rice into the air so that the wind can blow away the chaff.

The late Joe Owen explains the harvesting process he learned from his dad: https://pimaki.ca/how-to-harvest-manoomin-wild-rice/

5. An NFB Film Feared It Would Disappear (But the Tradition Remains Strong)

In 1980, the National Film Board (NFB) of Canada produced a short film called Rice Harvest, which follows families from Pauingassi First Nation as they harvest manoomin to sell to bush pilots. At the time, the film lamented that, like the fur trade, “the annual harvesting of wild rice may become the stuff of songs and legends.” We are proud that forty-six years later, manoominikewin (tending of wild rice stands) remains strong across Pimachiowin Aki.

Watch the 12-minute film: https://www.youtube.com/embed/UZUc_FQxPDY

Feature photo: © Ōtake Hidehiro

An Ethical Fall Moose Harvest

September 17, 2024

As the fall moose harvest approaches, Pimachiowin Aki wants to remind community members and all hunters to help Guardians during this busy time. If you see any waste, reckless hunting, or hunters being disrespectful, tell your Guardian. Guardians will, in turn, report concerns to their communities and to provincial staff.

Moose Population

Pimachiowin Aki is communicating with our provincial government partners to renew our working relationship and talk about the moose population and concerns about harvesting.

“We want to be part of the decision-making process. We want to be part of the consultation and plans,” says Pimachiowin Aki Director William Young, Bloodvein River First Nation.

Having conversations and sharing information with government partners will allow us to make the best decisions for the moose, adds Pimachiowin Aki Executive Director Alison Haugh. “How are moose doing in the area? Do we need to close areas or limit the hunt because moose are not doing well? If they are not doing well, is it due to habitat or hunting pressure? These are important answers to have.”

Watch for updates on our work with wildlife and habitat.

Did You Know?

Most of Pimachiowin Aki is caribou habitat, but because of the wildfire cycle, we could see more moose in five to 10 years from now.

infographic denting 100 years of resources following a wildfire

Photo: Ōtake Hidehiro

How to Harvest Manoomin (Wild Rice)

March 11, 2024

The late Joe Owen of Pauingassi First Nation often reminisced about harvesting, traveling and listening to stories from his dad. Below, Joe describes the process of harvesting manoomin (wild rice).

Identify Harvest Time

The wild rice plant needs to be above the surface of the water, with the branch extended, and pockets for the kernels formed. Once this occurs, it takes about 10 days for the heads to fill out. At that point, the kernels are ripe and need to be harvested. If this narrow time window is missed, rain or wind will cause the kernels to fall back into the lake.

Pankissinon
(Better pick them quickly before they fall)
Kwiipit (Joe’s Dad) often used this word

Manoomin looks like floating grass before it grows up and out of the water.

Drying Manoomin (Wild Rice)

Once the kernels are harvested, they are placed in a tall metal pail angled against the heat of the fire to heat and dry them. It is imperative that they be thoroughly dried for two reasons. First, the husking process follows the drying period and the husks won’t detach from the kernel if the kernels aren’t entirely dry. The heat needs to remove moisture and result in temperatures that cause the husk to burn, but not the rice. The second reason for needing high levels of dryness is to preserve the wild rice. Heating of the kernel is needed to prepare for storage.

In the pot, a paddle is used to continuously stir the rice for 10-15 minutes if the quantity of wild rice is 3-4 pounds. This process is repeated over and over again during the initial drying/stirring process if greater volumes are being dried.

Ahkihkan okii apichii’an (They used a pail)
Piiwapihk ahkihk (A metal pail)
Oki wanaweyaanan ima ahkihkwonk
(It was stirred in the pail)
Apwi oki aapachii’an (A paddle was used)

Separating Husks and Kernels

Once the drying is done, the rice is placed on a canvas in a shallow pit in the ground. Joe’s Dad would step into the pit wearing moccasins. He would stand on the rice and stir it in an agitator fashion, with his feet moving side to side, while holding a branch or stick to maintain his balance. The agitating action would separate the dry/burned husks from the rice kernels.

Once the husks and kernels were separated, Joe’s dad would lift out the canvas and throw the kernels up and down, allowing the wind to blow away the husks.

Ahkihkwaabpihk kii siikinaan oteshpiwepinaanan, wepash ikiweniwak (husks)
Kii pahkwachihsewak (they fall off)

Pimachiowin Aki is grateful to Joe for sharing his knowledge and Gerald Neufeld for recording Joe’s words.