Shelden Misquadace1, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, Bob Thompson2, University of Minnesota
Zizania palustris (wild rice) has played a central role in the Native American community. The lands chosen by the Fond du Lac band of Ojibwe in the 1854 treaty were chosen based on the availability of wild rice. Wild rice is vital to Ojibwe culture because it's a very productive food source, which can be stored for months. Z.p. has been used in this region for more than 3000 years. Each plant contains millions of cells that are encased in silicon dioxide(phytoliths). Some phytoliths can be traced to groups of plants such as grasses, reeds, or sedges. Other phytoliths can be identified down to species. Wild rice produces some of these unique cell types. These cells get preserved in the lake sediments for thousands of years. Our study focuses on three lakes in the Fond du Lac reservation: Dead Fish, Perch Lake and Rice Portage. We are focusing our efforts on three main Z.p. phytolith indicators: inndented rondels, multiple indented rondels, and crosses. Reeds produce concave bottom rondels . Ten samples were collected from cores at each lake; we collected a sample every 16 cm from each core. These are the first core samples from this study, and our goal was to identify the types of phytolith assemblages preserved in each lake. The variation in these assemblages reflects the presence and abundance of wild rice.