Keewadin Wild Rice / Birchbark Crafts
We are a Native American Owned Business located on the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation in Central Minnesota. We sell wild rice and birchbark baskets and crafts.
Wild rice, which the Ojibwe call mahnomin (pronounced mah-no-men), has long been an important food for Native Americans in the Upper Great Lakes region. It has been called the “perfect food” because it is high in protein and fiber, but low in fat. Actually, wild rice is not true rice like white rice, but a grain that grows naturally on top of a long grass in the lakes and river beds of the Great Lakes area.
Traditionally, Ojibwe familes camped near wild rice lakes harvesting enough mahnomin to last throughout the year. Mahnomin is still gathered with canoes which are poled through the wild rice where a second individual partner vigorously knocks the rice into the canoe with rice knockers constructed of white cedar wood.
The grain rice is spread to dry and then parched in large drums. Our rice is 100% natural, containing no insecticide or chemical fertilizers. Wild rice is truly a unique and versatile grain.
Keewadin crafts are made from the native birch bark tree. Constructing crafts from the birch bark tree has been an Ojibwe tradition amongst our people for generations. Unlike other craftsmen, our crafts are triple stitched, where applicable, producing quality worksmanship. Baskets and various other crafts have embedded animal or floral designs available for one's choice.
