Minnesota Prehistory Minnesota Prehistory Ricing Wild rice grows as tall reeds 8 to 12 foot in flowing water 3 to 8 foot deep in what is now Wisconsin, Minnesota and marshes north of the great lakes. There are thousands of different varieties, each growing in its own particular niche of depth, temperature, mud and water quality.
Wild rice is very sensitive to the environmental conditions of it's niche.
Steps in Ricing Harvesting Rice is harvested traditionally by two people in a canoe. One person would pole the canoe through the reed beds while the other did the actual harvesting. The harvesting is done by bending the reeds down over the canoe and hitting them with a sharp blow from a wooden rod. The blow will cause most of the ripe grain to be released, but leaves the reed and green grain undamaged. Using this fashion of release, the grain remains intact.