The Sacred Harvest: Ojibway Wild Rice Gathering

by Gordon Regguinti, Dale Kakkak (Photographer), Michael Dorris (Foreword by)

Glen Jackson, Jr., an eleven-year-old Ojibway Indian in northern Minnesota, goes with his father to harvest wild rice, the sacred food of his people.

Genres: Thanksgiving, Native American, Picture Books, History, Nonfiction, Childrens

48 pages, Paperback

First published September 9, 1992

Reviews

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love wild rice, mahnomin to the Ojibway Indians, so I was extra interested to read this book in the We Are Still Here series, and especially since I’ve enjoyed the books I’ve read so far.

This is a father-son story. An eleven-year-old boy goes with his father on his first wild rice harvest. Glen and his family live on the Leech Lake reservation in northern Minnesota, about a four-hour drive from Minneapolis.

My favorite parts of this book were the sections about wild rice: general information about its properties and its history, especially as it pertains to the Ojibway people.

The photos and maps and extras in this book are excellent. I loved the foreword in another book I just read in this series, but this foreword was word for word identical for the first 2/3 of it, until it mentioned this particular story and family; that was kind of weird.

I really enjoy peeking into others’ lives, and these accounts of Native American families who engage in traditional activities are extremely appealing.

I appreciate that the contributors are Native Americans and that the author is a member of the Leech Lake Band of the Ojibway; the people who create these series books are part of the communities about which they write.

So, what’s with the Indian with headdress in front of the flag? And, I had a slight problem with the way Glen’s dog was treated at one point. And I wasn’t quite as engaged in this real life coming of age story as I’d expected to be. But, I could feel proud of Glen, and I did enjoy the book.

And, I think wild rice is delicious. It’s expensive and so I buy it only rarely and usually in a blend with brown rices, but now I’ll be looking to see if I can buy some wild rice from the Leech Lake Wild Rice Company, particularly now that I have information about domesticated wild rice that’s on the market, its development and how that’s impacted the financial health of the Ojibway community members.

I can’t believe I’m the first Goodreads’ member to have this book on my read shelf. It and other books in this series are very worthy of reading!

[Maeve · Rating 3 out of 5]

An introduction to the Ojibway tradition of gathering wild rice.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed how this book addresses the themes of passing on time honored traditions and a boy's transition into manhood by becoming a contributing member of his community. The portrayal of each step of the harvest is especially interesting and helpful and the photography is well done.

[Allison6876 · Rating 4 out of 5]

read for HIST 3417 paper

[M Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned a lot about where wild rice comes from.

[Rania Fawal · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was great how the ojibway did or made grain rice