Transforming research and relationships through collaborative tribal-university partnerships on Manoomin (wild rice)

• DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.10.010
• Publication Date: 2020-11-03T02:03:23Z
• Authors: Laura Matson; G.-H. Crystal Ng; Michael Dockry; Madeline Nyblade; Hannah Jo King; Mark Bellcourt; Jeremy Bloomquist; Perry Bunting; Eric Chapman; Diana Dalbotten; Mae A. Davenport; Karen Diver; McKaylee Duquain; William (Joe) Gra...; Katherine Hagsten; Kari Hedin; Susannah Howard; Thomas Howes; John Johnson; Shannon Kesner; Erik Kojola; Roger LaBine; Daniel J. Larkin; Melonee Montano; Seth Moore; Amy Myrbo; Michael Northbird; Meghan Porter; Rich Robinson; Cara M. Santelli; Riley Schmitter; Robert Shimek; Nancy Schuldt; Allison Smart; Donovan Strong; Joshua Torgeson; Darren Vogt; Alexander Waheed
• Keywords: Stewardship; Sustenance; Traditional Knowledge; Grassroots; Commodification

Manoomin, the Ojibwe word for wild rice, grows in shallow lakes and streams provides physical, spiritual, cultural sustenance as a sacred food relative Indigenous peoples across Great Lakes region of North America. Unfortunately, Manoomin has been declining due to multiple environmental stressors. In 2018, an interdisciplinary group from University Minnesota came together with natural resource managers tribes inter-tribal organizations understand within its socio-environmental context. This partnership grew despite history fraught settler colonial structures knowledge production commodification. Based on lessons learned building this transformational partnership, paper describes ten tenets responsible research: 1) Honor sovereignty rights; 2) Address past present harms; 3) Be path researchers partners; 4) Recognize, respect, value participation intellectual labor; 5) Encourage robust exchange ideas; 6) Recognize that documents formalizing relationship are not whole relationship; 7) Make plan identifying protecting sensitive data; 8) prepared navigate institutional obstacles; 9) Seek, support, collaborate diverse students; 10) Actively listen be open different ways engaging world. These can serve tools form accountable partnerships enable robust, nuanced, effective science, policy, stewardship.