Mino-Bima-Diziwin: The Good Life
| Series
Information |
Curricular
Areas:
Cultural Studies, Regional Studies, and Social Studies |
| Length:
One 60-Minute Program, CC |
| Grade
Level: All Grades |
| Web
Resources |
|
On
the White Earth reservation in Minnesota, harvesting wild rice is
an annual tradition. In this hour-long documentary, many wonderful
and intimate moments show the hardships and rewards experienced
by those who continue to live off the land. The program interweaves
philosophy about "manoomin" or wild rice, with the stories
of local people whose lives revolve around the harvest. Background
interviews illuminate both the economic and the spiritual aspects
of this ancient tradition.
At the center of the story are Dorothy and Darwin Stevens, a couple
who have been ricing together for over forty years. This couple
still hand-harvests wild rice in a canoe using the traditional flails
— a pair of wooden rice knockers —and a pole to propel
the boat. Rice Lake, the community they live in, is the historic
site of some of Minnesota's most ancient and flourishing rice camps.
Darwin Stevens is the last of the old rice caretakers, whose job
it was to watch over the lake, raising and lowering the water levels,
and enforcing decisions about the harvest.
The Stevens' represent the ingenuity and self-sufficiency of an
older generation of Native People who supplemented their income
by hunting and gathering. Despite cultural losses and financial
hardship, these elders made a living out of what they had: knowledge
of the land, and an infinite faith in the Creator. The Stevens exemplify
the tremendous inner resources and spirit of ordinary people on
the reservation who are quietly building a life for themselves and
their children's children.
The film is narrated by Winona LaDuke, a nationally known Native
environmentalist from White Earth, who discusses continuity and
change in gathering and processing of rice. The program uses these
issues as a springboard into the underlying economic, social and
philosophical issues of sustainable land use. This is a documentary
about values and choices, and how one influences the other.
This program was directed by Deb Wallwork an award-winning independent
producer of Native American documentaries from Fargo, ND. Mary John
(Dakota), a Native writer and activist, was the co-producer. Gladys
Ray, an Ojibwe elder, was the project advisor.
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