As the largest lake entirely within Wisconsin’s borders, Lake Winnebago spans nearly 132,000 acres across three counties. Fed by the Wolf and Fox rivers, it’s a place rich in significance for several tribal nations, including the Ho Chunk, Meskwaki, Fox, Sauk, Menominee, Oneida, Stockbridge-Munsee, Brothertown and others.

It is this importance to multiple nations that led Mark Denning (Oneida/Menominee) to describe Lake Winnebago and its tributaries as “international waters.” Said Jessica Ryan, vice chair of the Brothertown Indian Nation, who recounted hearing this comment from Denning, “That (statement) really stuck out to us… We know that all these nations have called these waterways home, but that was really impactful. This is how all the trading happened, and the water sustained us. It’s the lifeblood of Earth.”

Ryan is part of a team working on an effort known as the Lake Winnebago InterTribal Connectivity Project, which is receiving Wisconsin Sea Grant support during Sea Grant’s 2022-24 research funding cycle. Her partners in this work include Dr. Jessie Conaway of the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Skip Blanc, a Brothertown tribal council member; and other members of the Brothertown Nation. They are joined by a vast network of partners from other Native nations, UW-Madison students, non-tribal partners, and agencies like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This large, multifaceted collaborative is focusing on revitalizing wild rice in the Lake Winnebago area.

Wild rice grows in a coastal wetland

Wild rice grows in a coastal wetland in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, in summer 2022. A collaborative effort supported in part by Wisconsin Sea Grant will consider wild rice revitalization at Lake Winnebago. (Photo: Titus Seilheimer)

While still present, particularly in Lake Poygan (just west of Lake Winnebago), wild rice is not what it used to be in the area. Ryan recounted coming across an old journal that described Lake Winnebago as “teeming with rice such that the boats could not pass.” That vivid image stuck in her mind due to its disconnect with current reality.

Project work will include assessing water quality, sediments and wild rice habitat. Said Blanc of the wide-ranging effort, “It’s going to take all of us, Native and non-native, from all spectrums of life to do this.”

Building a network, looking ahead

Ryan and the UW’s Conaway first met back in 2015 and had kept in touch. The current work on Lake Winnebago got off the ground in 2019, in part due to help from Ashley Gries, a UW graduate student at the time. “Students can really be the engines of our work and very inspirational,” said Conaway.

In 2021, the Brothertown Nation, Conaway and Gries formed a strategy and invited 12 tribal nations to come together to discuss wild rice work and Lake Winnebago; eight were able to attend. Sea Grant support began in 2022 to help keep this effort moving forward.

Gries described wild rice as a “persnickety plant” that is sensitive to environmental changes. She sees water levels, water quality, nutrient loading, sedimentation and possible user conflicts as just some of the facets for the collaboration to consider. The team will need to weigh appropriate locations for reseeding plants.

Participants in the 2022 Lake Winnebago Water Walk draw attention to water as a vital, precious resource. All are welcome at the event coordinated by the Brothertown Indian Nation, whose vice chair, Jessica Ryan, is pictured third from the left. Ryan is also a key organizer for the Lake Winnebago InterTribal Connectivity Project.

The project will take a long view, considering not only what is feasible given current conditions and uses of the lake, but also what would be sustainable over many years to come.

“I want to see the rice restored, but I don’t know if that’s practical; I don’t know if it can be done long-term,” said Ryan. Yet it is a cherished goal given the cultural importance of wild rice to many peoples (and also its importance to other living beings that depend on it).

Conaway stressed the need to organize around conservation and tribal priorities. “This area is rich with history, stories and connections. It’s a large project, and it can feel unwieldy, but we know we’re on a good path… and I’m grateful for the opportunity. We’re in it for the long haul,” she said.

The Lake Winnebago InterTribal Connectivity Project will bring together resources, equipment and knowledge from its many partners to learn as much as possible and consider future plans. To learn more, contact Jessie Conaway at jessie.conaway@wisc.edu.

The post Reviving rice: Large collaborative effort will investigate possible wild rice restoration around Lake Winnebago first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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Jennifer Smith

Living water: Northern Indigenous communities’ use and perceptions of drinking water

By Mylène Ratelle, University of Waterloo, and Jessie Yakeleya, Sahtu Renewable Resources Board, The Conversation

 is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.

In Indigenous communities that have lacked access to safe water for years, getting access to a safe water supply is crucial.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/northern-indigenous-communities-drinking-water/

The Conversation

The Sea Grant field office on the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus has an opening for a First Nation’s graduate assistant at the masters or Ph.D. level, in collaboration with the  First Nations Studies Program and Cofrin Center for Biodiversity to develop a place-based research or professional project focused on First Nation connection to the Green Bay watershed. Project activities could include, but are not limited to, archival research, archeology, oral tradition and application of Indigenous knowledge systems.

The individual will also work with the three supervising partners on outreach and educational activities.

The candidate must be enrolled or eligible for enrollment at UW-Green Bay in either the M.S. Environmental Science and Policy Graduate Program or the Ed.D. First Nations Education Doctoral Program for the fall 2022 semester.

This opportunity is open until filled. Full details are available here.

The post First Nations position opening in Green Bay field office first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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Moira Harrington

As fall leaves continue their colorful turn and cooler winds blow, it’s a perfect time to curl up with a good book—and encourage the young readers in your life to do the same.

Wisconsin’s Sea Grant’s “Lake Talks” continue on Thursday, Nov. 11, from 7-8 p.m. with a literary theme. The evening’s presentation will be “Maadagindan! (Start Reading!) Literature for Young People about the Great Lakes and Ojibwe Culture.”

The virtual event, held on Zoom, is open to all. Registration is required. (Register for this event now.) The hour includes time for audience questions.

It will feature a trio of speakers:

  • Hannah Arbuckle, outreach coordinator for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC), member of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians
  • Morgan Coleman, a summer 2021 Wisconsin Sea Grant intern who focused on Great Lakes literacy and Ojibwe culture
  • Anne Moser, senior special librarian and education coordinator, Wisconsin Water Library and Wisconsin Sea Grant

All who are interested in books for young readers are welcome at this event, including—but not limited to—parents, librarians and educators.

Attendees will learn about a related book club, also free and online, that will launch in spring 2022 and further explore the topics discussed. The book club will mainly center on books for children from birth through age 12.

Morgan Coleman (submitted photo)

As a summer intern, Morgan Coleman was sponsored by Wisconsin Sea Grant and placed with GLIFWC, where she worked on a book club discussion guide. Coleman will discuss how and why she created it. A recent graduate of UW-River Falls, she is now pursuing graduate studies in English at the University of St. Thomas.

Hannah Arbuckle (submitted photo)

Hannah Arbuckle, who helped mentor Coleman, will talk about the role of GLIFWC and some of the publications it produces, which range from a quarterly newsletter to the book for young readers, “Growing Up Ojibwe.” Formed in 1984, GLIFWC represents 11 Ojibwe tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan and their hunting, fishing and gathering rights according to their treaties with the U.S. government. The commission provides natural resource management expertise, conservation enforcement, legal and policy analysis, and public information services.

Anne Moser

Moser, librarian of the Wisconsin Water Library since 2008, works to ensure that it maintains a broad and diverse collection, from water quality reports to children’s books that reflect diverse perspectives. Said Moser, “I’m eager to talk about what we know about effective strategies for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education for young people, and how diversity is key to many of the approaches.  Black, Indigenous and children of color have not received enough attention either in children’s publishing or in science education.” Moser presents frequently at libraries throughout Wisconsin and provides curricular support to educators statewide.

After this event, one more fall Lake Talk remains: a Dec. 9 event, also on Zoom, with Minnesota-based poet Moheb Soliman, for whom the Great Lakes are an important subject and source of inspiration.

For Lake Talks event and registration information, visit the Sea Grant website, or follow Wisconsin Sea Grant on Facebook or Twitter. You can register for the Nov. 11 presentation now.

For questions about this series, contact Wisconsin Sea Grant science communicator Jennifer Smith.

The post Lake Talks series to explore books for young readers with an Ojibwe and Great Lakes focus first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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Jennifer Smith

HotSpots H2O: Canadian Government Misses Target to End Water Insecurity for First Nations Communities

By Elena Bruess, Circle of Blue

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/canadian-government-water-insecurity-first-nations-communities/

Circle of Blue