On Wednesday, January 20 from 6–8 pm, UMD’s Center for Ethics and Public Policy is sponsoring a lecture by biologist Peter David (Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission) where he will review some of the threats and challenges facing contemporary wild rice stewardship.
The event will take place at UMD’s Solon Campus Center Room 120. This event is free and open to the public.
The Ojibwe’s long and complex connectivity to manoomin (wild rice) is currently being tested by an array of biological, political, and economic threats. Preserving this unique relationship for future generations may hinge on our desire and commitment to preserve the abundance of manoomin on the regional landscape today. This lecture will provide an introduction on the Ojibwe’s historic and contemporary relationship with wild rice, review some of the threats and challenges facing contemporary wild rice stewardship, and look at some of the past restoration successes which can inform our way forward.
Peter David is a wildlife biologist with Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC). Originally from Green Bay, WI, he received BS and Master Degrees in Wildlife Ecology from UW-Madison before heading north to work for GLIFWC, which was only in its third year of existence at the time. There his education in manoomin (wild rice) really began, spurred in large part by the tribal elders and ricers who shared their traditional ecological knowledge regarding this cultural and ecological treasure. More than 25 years later his relationship with manoomin continues to expand, as a harvester, self-finisher, researcher, manager, and steward of wild rice.
This lecture is funded in part by the Global Awareness Fund and the Anishinaabe Fund of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation.
It is cosponsored with UMD’s Department of American Indian Studies
Find more information about this event and The Center for Ethics and Public Policy.