The Michigan Wild Rice Initiative brings together Tribal nations, state agencies, knowledge holders, and communities to protect, restore, and honor Manoomin across Michigan.
The Michigan Wild Rice Initiative brings together Tribal (Anishinaabe) government and state agency personnel, academics, knowledge holders, and other environmental and cultural experts to revitalize Manoomin culture and abundance.
We seek a shared future where Manoomin are restored and flourishing in all ecosystems across the state — where there are environmental and social conditions to protect, support, and enhance thriving communities.
MWRI believes Manoomin offers a path for Anishinaabe and non-Anishinaabe communities and governments to learn how to work together in a good way. By spreading awareness of these principles, MWRI promotes a future in which all who share these two peninsulas live together in a good way with Manoomin.
We all live together in a good way with Manoomin. The lessons that collaborators learn through this effort will be insightful for guiding future collaborations in caring for other non-human relatives.
The Michigan Wild Rice Initiative grew out of decades of Anishinaabe advocacy and a recognition that protecting Manoomin requires coordination across Tribal nations, state agencies, and the broader Michigan community.
Since 2017, the Michigan Wild Rice Initiative has brought together managers, specialists, knowledge holders, and academics to protect, preserve, and restore Manoomin and the culture surrounding it. MWRI is co-chaired by a state and a Tribal representative and is led by the Anishinaabe people who have carried this responsibility for generations.
For generations before MWRI was formalized, Anishinaabe relatives were advocating for the State of Michigan to protect Manoomin beds and aid in their restoration and revitalization. MWRI emerged to give coordinated structure to this advocacy — channeling the knowledge, relationships, and urgency that already existed into a collaborative framework capable of influencing policy, restoring habitat, and educating the next generation.
A landmark moment came in November 2023, when — after years of Anishinaabe advocacy — the State of Michigan designated Manoomin as the official native grain of the state under Public Act 247. Michigan became the first state in the nation to recognize both Zizania palustris and Z. aquatica as forms of the same cultural being, balancing Anishinaabe and Western ways of knowing. The recognition took effect in February 2024.
MWRI draws members from Tribal nations, state and federal agencies, conservation NGOs, colleges, and universities — reflecting the understanding that protecting Manoomin requires collaboration across many knowledge systems and institutions.
Manoomin face a convergence of ecological, regulatory, and cultural threats that have reduced their abundance across Michigan over the past century. Understanding these threats is foundational to the work of MWRI.
Michigan currently has no Manoomin-specific harvest regulations. Anyone can gather as much seed as they choose, in any manner, with no accountability for practices that harm beds — such as gathering unripe seed, breaking stalks, or using inappropriate equipment. This regulatory gap leaves Manoomin vulnerable to unsustainable exploitation.
The introduction of invasive species, recreational overuse of waterways, and careless boating and motorcraft damage the delicate ecological balance that Manoomin depend on. Manoomin beds are deeply interconnected communities — disruptions to water levels, substrate, or neighboring species reverberate throughout the entire system.
Shoreline development, drainage projects, altered water levels from dams and diversions, and agricultural runoff have degraded and destroyed Manoomin habitat across Michigan. The complex riparian ownership structure — where lake and riverbed ownership is divided among adjacent landowners — creates a patchwork of jurisdictions that makes coordinated protection difficult.
Rising water temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, increased storm intensity, and earlier ice-out dates are altering the conditions that Manoomin have adapted to over generations. Warmer water temperatures favor algae blooms and competing vegetation. These changes compound existing pressures, making restoration and long-term monitoring more urgent than ever.
Michigan lacks Manoomin-specific regulations for harvest, processing, and distribution. While river wild rice (Zizania aquatica) is listed as threatened under state law, lake wild rice (Z. palustris) has no such designation. The absence of clear legal frameworks makes it difficult to enforce protections, allocate harvest, or hold bad actors accountable.
Colonization and the disruption of Anishinaabe cultural practices have created gaps in intergenerational transmission of knowledge about Manoomin — how to harvest respectfully, how to process the seed, and how to understand Manoomin's place in the web of life. Rebuilding these connections is central to MWRI's education and outreach mission.
MWRI advances its mission through three working subcommittees, each guided by members with relevant expertise. The goals across subcommittees are interconnected and must advance together.
The Education & Outreach Subcommittee works to build widespread awareness and appreciation for Manoomin's cultural, spiritual, and ecological significance across Michigan. Activities reach Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, schools, professional networks, land managers, and the general public.
The Policy & Protection Subcommittee works to advance legal protections for Manoomin, uphold Tribal Treaty rights, and ensure that government agencies at every level understand and honor their obligations to Manoomin and to Anishinaabe harvesters.
The Monitoring & Restoration Subcommittee coordinates scientific and Traditional Knowledge-based monitoring of Manoomin across Michigan's waters, develops shared restoration protocols, and builds a data infrastructure that respects Tribal data sovereignty.
MWRI is a collaboration among the twelve federally recognized Anishinaabe nations that share geography with the state of Michigan — the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Bodéwadmi nations of the Council of Three Fires, or Niswi-mishkodewinan.
MWRI's work requires active collaboration with Michigan state agencies and federal partners that hold jurisdiction over the lands and waters where Manoomin grows. These relationships are essential to achieving policy change, restoration, and long-term protection.
MWRI is governed by a Steering Committee co-chaired by Tribal and state representatives, with three working subcommittees advancing the Initiative's goals across distinct areas of focus.
Steering Committee
Co-chaired by Tribal & State Representatives
All twelve Anishinaabe nations + agency partners
Education & Outreach
Community programs, rice camps, school outreach, professional training
Policy & Protection
Advocacy, Treaty rights, regulatory engagement, funding
Monitoring & Restoration
Bed surveys, seed banking, data governance, restoration protocols
Subcommittee membership includes representatives from Tribal nations, state and federal agencies, academic institutions, and conservation organizations.
