The Slice
Manoomin: Culture, Connection & Conservation
9/8/2026 | 1m 58sVideo has Closed Captions
Kathleen Smith of the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission shares...
Kathleen Smith of the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission shares the deep cultural significance of manoomin, or wild rice, and its connection to Ojibwe language, food systems, and treaty rights. She reflects on the importance of protecting wetlands and rice beds while inspiring young people to become future providers who hunt, fish, gather, and carry traditional knowledge forward for gen
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
The Slice is a local public television program presented by PBS North
The Slice
Manoomin: Culture, Connection & Conservation
9/8/2026 | 1m 58sVideo has Closed Captions
Kathleen Smith of the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission shares the deep cultural significance of manoomin, or wild rice, and its connection to Ojibwe language, food systems, and treaty rights. She reflects on the importance of protecting wetlands and rice beds while inspiring young people to become future providers who hunt, fish, gather, and carry traditional knowledge forward for gen
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship“Speaking Ojibwe” So my name is Kathleen Smith.
I'm with Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.
My position there is Ganawandang Manoomin She who takes care of the wild rice.
The cultural significance of Manoomin Oh my gosh, it really means to to me, myself.
It's it's about our culture.
It's about our language.
It's about food, basically our food system.
And to have food on a landscape, to be able to go out and harvest and exercise our treaty rights, that's what it's really about.
If we do not use, you know, our, our rice beds, they will go away.
And that's what's happening right now, these beautiful wetlands, you know, they're disappearing.
And it's really important to really advocate for, for our wetlands because that's the kidneys, you know, of Mama Akii.
That's what filters, you know, to make our water good and clean so we can have fresh water.
What I like to see in the future is all of us healing in, in our ways to get our young people especially, you know, really excited about conservation, preservation of our beautiful landscape and our beautiful gifts that we have, and also to really uplift our youth, become providers for the future providers, meaning to be able to go out on a landscape to hunt, fish and gather.
So when they become providers, they will get excited and be able to pass that knowledge back down to future generations.
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The Slice is a local public television program presented by PBS North