This article by Winona LaDuke was published on In Forum, January 24th, 2019.

Manoomin (wild rice) now has legal rights. At the close of 2018, the White Earth band of Ojibwe recognized the “Rights of Manoomin” as a part of tribal regulatory authority. The resolution states, “it has become necessary to provide a legal basis to protect wild rice and fresh water resources as part of our primary treaty foods for future generations.” These laws reflect traditional laws of Anishinaabe people, now codified in tribal government regulatory authority. White Earth’s action follows a similar resolution at the 1855 Treaty Authority.

The law begins: “Manoomin, or wild rice, within all the Chippewa ceded territories, possesses inherent rights to exist, flourish, regenerate, and evolve, as well as inherent rights to restoration, recovery and preservation.”

The Rights of Manoomin include:

  • The right to clean water and freshwater habitat
  • The right to a natural environment free from industrial pollution
  • The right to a healthy, stable climate free from human-caused climate change impacts
  • The right to be free from patenting
  • The right to be free from contamination by genetically engineered organisms

The Rights of Manoomin are modeled after the Rights of Nature, which has been recognized in courts and adopted internationally for the last decade. Ecuador and Bolivia both added Rights of Nature clauses to their constitutions. In 2016, the Ho Chunk Nation in Wisconsin became the first US tribe to adopt the Rights of Nature, and in 2017 the Ponca Nation in Oklahoma became the second. India has granted full legal rights to the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, with the Himalayan glaciers also recognized to have rights to exist. MORE…