A ricing stick ( (singular), (plural)), also known as a flail, knocking stick, or rice knocker, is an

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

hand

tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by animals, animals use simple tools, only human bei ...

used for

threshing Threshing or thrashing is the process of loosening the edible part of grain (or other crop) from the straw to which it is attached. It is the step in grain preparation after reaping. Threshing does not remove the bran from the grain. History of ...

wild rice Wild rice, also called manoomin, mnomen, psíŋ, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus ''Zizania'', and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically and is sti ...

. Ricing sticks have been traditionally used by

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabe (alternatively spelled Anishinabe, Anicinape, Nishnaabe, Neshnabé, Anishinaabeg, Anishinabek, Aanishnaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region of C ...

peoples of the

Great Lakes region The Great Lakes region of Northern America is a binational Canadian– American region centered on the Great Lakes that includes the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and the Ca ...

. The ricing sticks are used to harvest wild-growing rice by knocking the ripened grains off of the stalks of rice. This harvesting is typically performed by

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

—as the plants grow partially submerged in shallow water—and the sticks are used to knock the rice into the canoe or a collection vessel. Any stick can be used, but ricing sticks are normally tapered, blunt sticks, sometimes with a flattened end, with a thicker end, sometimes lined in cloth, meant to be held in the hand. Ricing sticks can be used two at a time, one in each hand, while a companion rows the canoe. While the tool has ancient roots, it continues to be utilized in modern society, even by non-indigenous people, and use of ricing sticks on public or tribal lands is often regulated. For example, in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, wild rice on public land can be harvested only using hand-operated ricing sticks which must be "round, smooth wood no longer than 30 inches and weigh no more than one pound."{{Cite web , title=Wild Rice Regulations , url=https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/regulations/wildrice/index.html , access-date=2023-05-19 , website=Minnesota Department of Natural Resources , language=en According to the 1854 Treaty Authority Ceded Territory Code, ricing sticks must be “round, smooth cedar, no longer than 32-inch,” while in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, they can be up to 38 inches.

References

External links

* Roger LaBine, of the Lake Superior Chippewa
demonstrates making ricing sticks
at the 2017 Great Lakes Intertribal Summit. Anishinaabe culture Mechanical hand tools Threshing tools Wands