Image credit: Lorie Shaull/Flickr.
Recommended for funding, pending NOAA approval.
Strong winters lead to good wild rice harvests. This traditional ecological knowledge has guided Indigenous communities for generations. However, as winters in the Upper Great Lakes region become shorter and warmer, wild rice, known as manoomin in Ojibwe and psíη in Dakota, is facing new and urgent threats. This project weaves together Indigenous knowledge and Western science to investigate how changing ice, snow, and winter nutrients affect the lifecycle of this sacred relative, ensuring tribal resource managers have the tools they need to protect it for future generations.
Project description
This project, "Gathering Knowledge to Understand the Relationships Among Winter and Manoomin/Psíη (Wild Rice)," investigates the critical but under-studied link between winter conditions and the health of manoomin/psíη (wild rice). While it is well known that wild rice is sensitive to summer water levels and contaminants, recent tribal observations and preliminary data suggest that strong winters, characterized by colder temperatures and greater snowfall, are essential for high-yielding harvests. This project will:
- Analyze existing data to see how winter lake ice duration and snow cover impact springtime nutrient levels in lakes.
- Conduct narrative inquiry (storytelling) with tribal elders and harvesters to document traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) regarding winter-wild rice relationships.
- Establish standardized winter monitoring protocols to support tribal nations in tracking environmental changes on their own terms.
Why Sea Grant?
This project supports Minnesota Sea Grant's focus areas on Healthy Coastal Ecosystems and Resilient Communities of the Lake Superior region. Manoomin/psíη is a sentinel species whose health reflects the health of the entire ecosystem. By supporting this work, Sea Grant helps:
- Respond to changing environmental conditions: As winter lake ice duration declines, effective water resource and aquatic vegetation management will depend on understanding the cascading effects on aquatic plants.
- Support tribal sovereignty: Providing practical tools and capacity-building supports tribal nations in managing their own natural resources and data.
- Protect biodiversity: Stewarding wild rice habitat benefits a wide range of waterfowl, fish, and other aquatic life.
Project team
Principal Investigator:
Crystal Ng, Ph.D.
[email protected]
Associate Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Minnesota
Co-Principal Investigators:
Cara Santelli, Ph.D.
[email protected]
Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Minnesota
Mae Davenport, Ph.D.
[email protected]
Professor, Department of Forest Resources
Director, Center for Changing Landscapes
University of Minnesota
Funding
This project has been recommended for funding, pending NOAA approval, through the 2026-2028 Minnesota Sea Grant Biennial RFP. This work is supported by the Minnesota Sea Grant College Program using federal and/or matching funds under award NA24OARX417C0033-T1-01 from the National Sea Grant College Program, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Sea Grant College Program, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, or the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Lead scientist(s)
Crystal Ng, Ph.D.
[email protected]
Associate Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Minnesota