Page 26 - The Ogemawahj Tribal Council

Independent Research
Explore/Define: Write a two-to-three paragraph summary of
the following:
a) What are traditional foods? How are they gathered or hunted?

b) Define how the Anishinaabe people view the land and the natural
environment. This can be an independent assignment or task using
digital resources or the school library.

Share this background information with students: Wild rice was a staple
food for centuries. Manoomin habitat was flooded and the wild rice was
destroyed when dams were built on the Trent Severn Waterway system.
Wild rice has been reseeded in various areas where it traditionally grew
and was harvested. Cottagers in those areas are upset because the
tall grass of the wild rice plant affects their enjoyment of the water
around some of their cottages. For more information, see the story,
“Archaeologist confirms that wild rice grew in Kawartha Lakes for
centuries,” from mykawartha.com; link on weblinks list.
This information provides an opportunity to bring in vetted speakers to
talk about manoomin. Contact the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School
Board Indigenous Education Office for recommended speakers/experts.
Read the play Cottagers and Indians by Drew Hayden Taylor. This play is
about an Anishinaabe man who decides to re-establish wild rice in the
lakes of his home territory. His plan is opposed by the non-Indigenous
cottagers. The play is based on real events in the Kawartha Lakes.

Debate Question
Develop Pro and Con arguments for the following positions:
Position 1: reseeding should be allowed so that wild rice can be
harvested where it once flourished before the man-made flooding
destroyed it.
Position 2: The wild rice should be left to die out so that the cottagers’
enjoyment of their waterfront is not impeded by the long grass.

Intellectual (Respond) Success Criteria, Assessment
• See the Achievement Chart on pages 34 to 35 of The Ontario
Curriculum (2018) Social Studies Grades 1 to 6, History and
Geography Grades 7 and 8; link on weblinks list

Assessment (as learning)
• Student self-assessment
• Observation
• Student questions and wonderings for further learning

24 The Ogemawahj Tribal Council