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These words are not familiar to a majority of the population; however, the things that these words represent are familiar.  Nibi is the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) word for water.  Manoomin is the Anishinaabe word for wild rice.

Grains for Health spent the last three days on the White Earth Reservation in Mahnomen, Minnesota attending the Nibi and Manoomin: Bridging Worldviews Symposium.

As a Minnesotan in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, wild rice and water are two traditions that seem ever present.  This symposium taught me to look at both of these Minnesota resources through a different perspective.  Enjoying the abundant water or Minnesota and warming up with tasty wild rice soup to the Anishinaabe people is more than a simple tradition.  Wild Rice or Manoomin represents a fulfillment of an important prophecy to the Anishinaabe people.  They would know their homeland when they came to the place where the food grew on the water.  Manoomin is a gift from the Creator to the Anishinaabe people.

The University of Minnesota began researching wild rice in the 1970s to understand how to grow more wild rice and protect its future.  Since that time, genetic mapping of the wild rice genome began at the University of Minnesota without consultation of the Anishinaabe people. This has produced great tension and misunderstanding between researchers and the tribe.  Both University researchers and leaders of the tribe presented their understanding and beliefs of the future of manoomin.  Another presentation was made by junior high and high school students working with a program called The Manoomin Project.  It is my opinion that these students will be the ultimate ‘bridgers’ of worldviews because they hold both the sacred view and the scientific understanding within themselves.  The work being done now and the work that seems to be coming shows promise for the building of relationships across two opposing cultures.

It has been an honor to be present at this symposium to gain understanding of the Anishinaabe worldview and listen to top-notch researchers from the University of Minnesota.  Observng the interactions between both groups has equipped me with  another approach to bring divergent views together for a common goal.   Working together is the hardest work on the planet, but worth it. None of us is as smart as all of us.