White Earth Nation (USA) Tribal Resolution: Rights of Manoomin

Summary

In December of 2018, the White Earth Band of Ojibwe (part of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe) and the 1855 Treaty Authority adopted laws recognizing the Rights of Manoomin (wild rice), establishing on and off reservation protection of wild rice as well as the freshwater resources and habitats in which it thrives. The Rights of Manoomin law is the first law to recognize the legal rights of a plant species through the formal codification of traditional Indigenous laws by a tribal government. The law begins: “Manoomin, or wild rice, within all the Chippewa ceded territories, possesses inherent rights to exist, flourish, regenerate, and evolve, as well as inherent rights to restoration, recovery, and preservation.” The Rights of Manoomin include: the right to clean water and freshwater habitat; the right to a natural environment free from industrial pollution; the right to a healthy, stable climate free from human-caused climate change impacts; the right to be free from patenting; the right to be free from contamination by genetically engineered organisms.

White Earth Band of Ojibwe and the 1855 Treaty Authority worked with CELDF and its International Center for the Rights of Nature to develop the draft law. The law reflects the deep ecological and spiritual relationship between the Ojibwe people and manoomin, which has been central to their culture, sustenance, and identity for centuries. Wild rice is a sacred food source and a keystone species within northern Minnesota’s freshwater ecosystems. Wild rice populations have experienced an unfortunate decline in several lakes and wetlands due to industrial activity, water level manipulation, and sulfate pollution from mining operations.

In August of 2021, manoomin and the White Earth Band filed the case Manoomin, et.al., v. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, et.al. in the White Earth Tribal Court to enforce the rights of wild rice––the first rights of nature enforcement case to be brought in a tribal court. The case arose from the state’s decision to permit the “Line 3” oil pipeline project of Enbridge Inc., where five billion gallons of water would be used for the construction of the pipeline. White Earth Band argued that the state’s agreement to grant the permit violated the Rights of Manoomin by endangering water quality and wetland ecosystems within treaty territories. More information about this ruling can be found in the “Related Initiatives” section below, under “Tribal Court of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe Case Manoomin et al v. Minnesota DNR.”

Impact Statement

The Rights of Manoomin resolution is the first law to recognize the legal rights of a plant species through the formal codification of traditional Indigenous laws by a tribal government. This initiative prompted a tribal court case again the state of Minnesota, showing the legal enforcement and teeth of Rights of Nature jurisprudence as well as the power of tribal precedent and learning from indigenous leadership and traditional ecological knowledge. The resolution later inspired a Rights of Manoomin legislation at the state level in Minnesota.

Related Initiatives