Kyra Michalski will be a 2025 UW-Madison graduate with majors in History and Sociology, as well as certificates in Southeast Asian Studies and American Indian and Indigenous Studies. She has always loved history and likes to focus on the pieces of it that people often do not learn about. Writing is also a favorite activity of hers, and she appreciates the opportunity to have been able to write for Wisconsin 101.
By This Author:
OBJECT HISTORY: Ricing Sticks (Bawa’iganaakoog)
Wild rice holds extreme cultural importance to Ojibwe culture for several reasons beyond basic sustenance; not only can it be dried and stored to sustain people through the winter, but it was also seen to fulfill the prophecy that guided the Ojibwe people west to what is now their home. Ricing is a long process that requires specialized tools, such as ricing sticks.
Ricing (Manoominikewin)
Wild rice was depicted in an Ojibwe prophecy before there was even a name for the grain. When the Ojibwe people began to migrate west, they were prophesied to settle where food grows on water. This essay explores the process, history, and future of harvesting manoomin in the Great Lakes Region.
Wild Rice and Wetland Conservation
Wild rice grows only in specific conditions, and its habitant is becoming increasingly threatened. The fragility of wild rice and its importance to Ojibwe people as a reciprocal relationship and promise has led to several ongoing conservation efforts to protect it.