American Indian students make trip to grow nature, themselves

CAMBRIDGE, MINN. – On the banks of the Rum River, Hailie Woodard stroked a canoe paddle in the water for the first time in her 16 years. Stepping carefully out of the wobbly boat, she sank into ankle-deep mud as she tried to fling clumps of wet wild rice seed on the water’s edges.

It was true immersion learning.

Woodard, a lifelong city dweller who is part American Indian, had never seen the stalks of wild rice that were once so integral to indigenous life. But on a sun-kissed autumn day this week, she stood in mud and water to see and understand its environmental requirements and cultural significance. As part of a school field trip, she was helping to restore the aquatic plant to an area where it was once ubiquitous — and, trip leaders hoped, feel a connection to her indigenous heritage.

http://www.startribune.com/immersion-learning-american-indian-students-get-environmental-cultural-lesson-while-seeding-wild-rice/333417271/#1