Zizania aquatica -L.-
wild rice, Indian wheat


Entry Type: Species

Species Name: Zizania aquatica -L.-

Common Name: wild rice, Indian wheat

Myaamia Name: naloomina

Description:

Harvest Seasons: Undetermined

Harvest Comments:

Habitats: Undetermined

Uses: Food

Locations: Undetermined

Sources

Thwaites, R.G. (ed.) 1903

Reference Type: Related Info

Archival Data:

" . . .and the river upon which we row'd, to find the place we were to land and carry our canow into the other, was so full of wild-oats, that it lookt [sic] rather like a corn-field than a river, insomuch that we cou'd hardly discover its channel. As the Miamis frequented this place [somewhere in southern Wisconsin], they conducted us to the usual place of portage . . .".

Comments: N/A

Dunn, J.P. ca. 1900

Reference Type: Use - Food

Archival Data:

'nalomína', "rice (wild)"

Comments: N/A

Aatotankiki myaamiaki 1998-2006

Reference Type: Use - Food

Archival Data:

There is a plant called "indian wheat".

Comments: N/A

Gonella, M.P 2003-2006

Reference Type: Use - Food

Archival Data:

Wild rice was probably traded and harvested in Myaamia territory, since it grows in the area. Wild rice used to grow in the Fort Wayne area, approximately in the 1980s and before, but the certain type of wet area it needs are diminishing.

Comments: N/A

Dunn, J.P. ca. 1900

Reference Type: Use - Food

Archival Data:

"wild rice, nay-lo-min-yah-ke"

Comments: N/A

Gatschet, A.S. ca. 1895

Reference Type: Use - Food

Archival Data:

"nalúmina", "wheat"

Comments: N/A

Gravier, J. ca. 1700

Reference Type: Use - Food

Archival Data:

"rar8mina",  "folle avoine" ('wild oats')

Comments: N/A

Gleason, H.A. and Cronquist, A. 1991

Reference Type: Habitat

Archival Data:

Occurs along shores and associated wetland areas in north-eastern Myaamia lands.

Comments: N/A

Steyermark, J.A. 1963

Reference Type: Habitat

Archival Data:

Occurs in swamps and borders of ponds and streams in western Myaamia lands in southeastern Missouri.

Comments: N/A

Gonella, M.P 2003-2006

Reference Type: Habitat

Archival Data :

There are reportings of wild rice in northern Indiana, south to about the Wabash, mostly in and around the Kankakee marsh.

Comments: N/A

Deam, C. 1940

Reference Type: Habitat

Archival Data :

Wild rice included in early flora of Indiana, occuring in Lake, Laporte, Newton and Jasper Counties (all northwest corner of the state, bordering on Lake Michigan or just south of the border county).

Comments: N/A

Thwaites, R.G. (ed.) 1903

Reference Type: Related Info

Archival Data:

Louis Joliet described the Menominees gathering and use of wild rice in 1673: "The Wild Oats, from which they have got their name, is a sort of corn which grows naturally in the small rivers, the bottom whereof is Owzie [oozy or slimy], as also in marshy grounds. It is much like our European oats; the stem is knotted, and grows about two foot above the surface of the water. The corn is not bigger than ours, but it is twice as long, and therefore it yields much more meal. It grows above the water in June, and the savages gather it about September in this manner: They go in their canows into those rivers, and as they go they shake the ears of corn in their canows, which easily falls, if it be ripe: They dry it upon the fire, and when it is very dry, they put it into a kind of sack made with the skin of beasts; and having made a hole in the ground, they put their sack therein, and tread on it till they see the chaff is separated from the corn, which they winnow afterwards. They pound it in a mortar to reduce it into meal, or else boil it in water, and season it with grease, which makes it near as good as our rice".

Comments: N/A

Costa, D.J. 2000

Reference Type: Related Info

Archival Data:

The Miami-Illinois name for the Menominee is naloomina, which means people of the wild rice.

Comments: N/A

McPherson, A. and S. McPherson. 1977

Reference Type: Related Info

Archival Data:

Wild rice "was a favorite food of the Potawatomie Indians because it could be kept for use in the winter when other vegetable foods and meat were scarce or difficult to obtain".

Comments: N/A

Kenton, E. 1925

Reference Type: Related Info

Archival Data:

Menominees gathered and used wild rice.

Comments: N/A

Shultz, A. and Zomer, F. 2019

Reference Type: Related Info

Archival Data:

Persistent annual grass that reproduces from seeds. Growth occurs immediately after ice melt in shalow waters (1-3ft), where the substrate is soft and organic. Other factors affecting its growth include water turbidity, substrate type, sediment nutrient levels, wave energy, and water level fluctuations.

Comments: N/A

Shultz, A. and Zomer, F. 2019

Reference Type: Related Info

Archival Data:

Manoomin means 'good berry' in Ojibwe. Ojibwe migrated to Lake Superior region due to the abundant rice fields.

Comments: N/A

No Reference Specified

Reference Type: Related Info

Archival Data:

Ainishinaabe (Ojibway or Chippewa) call wild rice 'manoomin' and collect wild rice in selected ceded territories. 

Comments: N/A

Bush, L. 2001

Reference Type: Use - Food

Archival Data:

Wild rice identified at at the Crouch site of the Smith Valley Complex of archaeological sites, south of Indianapolis. Attribution unclear: Huber Phase Oneota, Missisippian peoples of eastern Illinois or other.

Comments: This was originally identified as Oliver Phase (1200-1450) and likely Myaamia, but has been corrected (personal communication with Leslie Bush, June 3, 2019). – Michael Gonella

Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission 2022

Reference Type: Related Info

Archival Data:

The Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC), comprised of eleven Ojibwe tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan supports programs for wild rice harvesters, practicing traditional manoomin gathering methods and innovating with new methods as well. 

 

 

Comments: N/A

Legends

  • L.: L. stands for Carl Linneaus, a Swedish botanist and zoologist living from 1707 - 1778, who formed the binomial nomenclature system for scientific naming of species (the two part name). His initial after a scientific name indicates he was the authority for that species name.
  • sp.: Indicates the actual species name cannot or need not be specified. Example: Lilium sp. indicates a single species in the genus Lilium that is not known or does not need to be specified.
  • spp.: (plural) indicates "several species", two or more species of the given genus. Example: Lilium spp. indicates 2 or more species in the genus that cannot or do not need to be distinguished.
  • Use - Unknown: A record for this plant exists but does not include explicit information about the plant's cultural use. It is probable the Myaamia used the plant.
  • Botanical Sources: Sources of any botanical data for this plant species that is not related to its cultural use or significance.
  • Related Sources: Data indirectly related to Myaamia ethnobotany, including non-Myaamia uses of the plant in contemporary and historic times.
  • Myaamia Archival Sources: All records of plant use obtained directly from a Myaamia tribal member in an interview, recorded by a second party or by self-recording.
  • Undetermined (Plant Use): There exists use or other information about a certain, unknown plant species, but the specific species has not yet been determined.
  • Medicinal: For the purposes of this database, medicinal uses of plants and medicinal knowledge are defined as: Commonly held communal knowledge regarding the use of plant-based substances that aid in maintaining a healthy mind, body or spirit, including tonics and teas.
  • Technology: For the purposes of this database, technological uses of plants are defined as: Plants used in the making of food processing, canoes, rafts, dyes, tools, utensils, weapons, hunting and fishing gear (i.e. net, weir, etc.), cordage, string, rope, fodder plant species, firewood, any plants used in trade, etc.
  • Material: For the purposes of this database, material uses of plants are defined as: Plants used in construction of dwellings (floor mats, roofing, side walls), furniture, baskets, storage items, musical instruments, games, crafts, jewelry, cordage used in crafts, etc.
  • Food: For the purposes of this database, food uses of plants are defined as: Plants used as consumed food, spices and seasonings, but not teas or tonics.
  • Customs: For the purposes of this database, customary uses of plants are defined as: Plants involved in a customary ceremony, ritual or traditional event, including ritual smoking, chewing tobacco, war rituals, special mats used to sit on during ceremonies. Customary uses of plants, in this database, does not including plants used for recreation (material), structures where ceremonies take place (material) or medicinal smoking (medicinal).
  • Eastern Myaamia Lands: Eastern Myaamia lands (eastern myaamionki) are centered around northern Indiana, and including western Ohio, eastern Illinois, southern Michigan, and the northernmost portions of Kentucky.
  • Western Myaamia Lands: Western Myaamia lands (western myaamionki) include western Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma.