Indigenous Teams Use Drones to Restore Sacred Wild Rice

Bazile Panek was seven years old when he first helped harvest wild rice from a canoe in northern Wisconsin, tapping plants with sticks just as his ancestors had done for millennia. Today, he's leading efforts to restore the sacred grain that Indigenous peoples call manoomin, meaning "the food that grows on water."

Wild rice once thrived across the upper Midwest in waters so abundant that places were named Wild Rice Lake. But dams, pollution, and climate change have pushed the culturally vital plant into decline, threatening a tradition that connects Indigenous communities to their heritage.

Now, thanks to determined protectors and modern technology, manoomin is staging a comeback. Researchers recently discovered that drones can detect exactly where wild rice grows, making restoration projects faster and more affordable than ever before.

The breakthrough comes alongside other promising developments. A study co-authored by Panek found that cutting back competing vegetation and adjusting water levels during key growing periods can help slow the plant's decline. Tribes, universities, and nonprofits across Wisconsin and Minnesota are now working together to restore wild rice in historic growing areas.

Jessie Conaway, who coordinates Indigenous arts and sciences research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is helping lead restoration efforts in Lake Winnebago. Her team is training community members to harvest and process rice once waters are restored.

For Indigenous peoples, wild rice isn't just food. It's a relative, a connection to ancestors, and a cornerstone of cultural identity. Families spend summers watching it grow, then gather in fall to harvest seeds while spreading others back into the water for next year's crop.

The Ripple Effect

The restoration projects are creating waves of positive change beyond bringing back a single plant. Communities are regaining food sovereignty, meaning they can grow and harvest their own traditional foods without depending on outside sources. Young people are learning ancestral skills and connecting with their heritage in hands-on ways.

The work also benefits everyone who cares about healthy ecosystems. Wild rice provides crucial habitat for fish, waterfowl, and other wildlife while filtering water naturally. As more lakes and rivers welcome back manoomin, entire watersheds are becoming healthier.

Despite funding cuts from the Trump administration, restoration teams are finding creative solutions and moving forward. Their resilience mirrors the plant itself, which has survived for thousands of years by adapting and spreading seeds even as some are harvested.

Panek describes the profound feeling of continuing a practice his ancestors perfected over countless generations. That connection to the past is now creating hope for the future as restored wild rice beds promise harvests for generations to come.