‘It’s blood memory from thousands of years ago’: Tending to Michigan’s wild rice [Video]

WAYLAND, MI — We don’t really agree on much anymore, but there is still one universal truth— people connect to their community and culture through food.

“It’s blood memory from thousands of years ago,” said Wyatt Szpliet, Food Sovereignty Coordinator Gun Lake Tribe.

And thanks to the hard work of many, it’s a memory that is still going strong today.

In 2023 Manoomin (Zizania plaustris and Zizania aquatic) became our state’s official native grain.

A deserving title because it’s been a foundation of Great Lakes regional diet for as long as people have been eating food, and an important piece of wetlands here in Michigan and the Great Lakes region.

“Manoomin is incredibly important, important to our people,” Wyatt told FOX17. “It’s one of our survival foods. It’s actually the reason why the Anishinabek ended up in the Great Lakes region”

Found growing in shallow inland lakes and slow-moving streams across the state, …