- [Narrator] Coming up on "One Detroit," we'll take you on a harvest of wild rice in Michigan and examine its history among Indigenous people in the region, plus, in honor of Veteran's Day, we'll talk with three members of the Detroit chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, and in our "Destination Detroit" series, we'll meet a military veteran whose parents came to Michigan from Sicily.

It's all coming up next on "One Detroit."

- [Narrator] Across our Masco family of companies, our goal is to deliver better living possibilities and make positive changes in the neighborhoods where we live, work, and do business.

Masco, a Michigan company since 1929, - [Narrator] Support also provided by the Cynthia & Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit PBS.

- [Narrator] The DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit PBS.

Through our giving, we are committed to meeting the needs of the communities we serve statewide to help ensure a bright and thriving future for all.

Learn more at dtefoundation.com.

- [Narrator] Nissan Foundation, and viewers like you.

(upbeat electronic music) (upbeat electronic music continues) - [Narrator] Just ahead on "One Detroit," we'll hear from two military veterans and the president of the Detroit chapter of Tuskegee Airmen as we prepare to commemorate Veterans Day, plus our "Destination Detroit" series features the story of a U.S.

Army veteran who also achieved a decades-long career in education, but first up, November is National Native American Heritage Month, and "One Detroit" teamed up with BridgeDetroit for a report on wild rice, the state's official native grain and a part of Indigenous people's history in Michigan.

Also known as manoomin, it used to grow in abundance across the Great Lakes region.

Now, there's an effort to bring it back.

BridgeDetroit's Jenna Brooker and "One Detroit's" Bill Kubota went on a manoomin harvest to learn more about wild rice and its importance to this area.

(upbeat electronic music) (upbeat electronic music continues) - It is the food that grows on the water.

Manoomin, it means "good berry" in English.

- I didn't know any of this, or I didn't have any of these feelings about rice until I got to come out and rice, and realized, like, "Oh, my God, this is why I exist, this is what allowed my ancestors and my family to thrive and sustain themselves," just really special, and I want more people to understand that story.

- [Jenna] Eryn Hyma.

She's from Grand Rapids, Michigan, on the water harvesting manoomin.

Wild rice beds used to grow all over the state.

It's an uncommon sight these days.

- I think when Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac came to Detroit, he described it as an earthly paradise.

The northern section of Belle Isle was more of a marsh, and there was coastal wetlands where all of these rivers exited Detroit, and wetlands is truly the place where wild rice thrives and grows.

- [Jenna] Long ago, manoomin grew along the Detroit River in Detroit, as the city grew, it went away.

- The history of draining wetlands and clearing swamps is the history of displacing wild rice in a lot of ways.

(faint speaking) - [Jenna] September 2025, Northeastern Michigan, a rice camp on the Au Sable River.

On this expedition, a couple dozen Anishinabek people with Indigenous roots from around the Great Lakes.

Here, the best way to harvest manoomin is the traditional way.

- These are knockers, this is cedarwood, and the reason we use cedarwood is 'cause it's lightweight, it floats, and it's soft, you don't hurt the plants when you're knocking it.

- So grab... (plants rustling) - The central part of any Anishinabek's life would've been his wiigwaasi-jiimaan, which means "birchbark canoe," and for us, that would've been, like, our car.

We lived on waterways, we used the waterways for transportation, you couldn't hunt, fish, gather without your canoe.

So first and foremost, there's gonna be at least two of you in each canoe, all right?

There's gonna be a push-puller and there's gonna be a rice-knocker, you guys can switch throughout, you can hand off your equipment to each other This is how we get through the manoomin without damaging it, 'cause it gathers all of those up and they're strong together, so... - This is really light.

- Yeah, careful with the end of it, though.

We don't wanna bop nobody.

(faint speaking) - Our lives and our practices helped wild rice, the way we harvest it and the way we would care for it, and wild rice returned that favor, right?

So it was, like, a reciprocal relationship.

- We're not just harvesting, guys, we are actually helping this bed out because if we didn't come out here and do this, ducks, redwing blackbirds, they love this just as much as we do, guys, so what we're doing today, we're not just taking it away from nature, we're helping nature because this gives us a chance to get those seeds into the sediment and actually get that sediment moved a little bit with our push-pull so that those seeds get a chance to bury and actually get covered up instead of just being a buffet for the geese the next time they just follow our footprint through the manoomin bed.

- [Jenna] The Au Sable, famous for trout fishing, saw hydroelectric dams installed on the river over the past century.

That helped lead to the demise of the manoomin, but on this part of the Au Sable, manoomin is back.

- 90 years ago, they put a dam just upstream from here.

Over the course of time, the dam started to break down, they didn't wanna take care of it, Army Corps engineers come in, long story short, they took it out, for 90 years, all this rice, and this muck, and all this stuff stayed dormant behind that dam, and once they released that dam, all that sediment comes down and settled all through here.

- Now, the ricers are watching for other dam removals that could revive more manoomin beds.

When you're here for a whole weekend, how many pounds of rice do you end up with?

- We've gotten... You know, for four days, we could, you know, end up with, you know, anywhere from 600 to 1,200 pounds of rice.

- Wow, just with, like, maybe 20 people out there?

- Yeah.

- [Jenna] Wow.

- [Frank] Yeah.

(faint speaking) - [Jenna] Bugs and debris that's also fallen in are removed from the grain, and chaff is separated from ricers' hair.

- This is part of the process.

- [Jenna] Into the sacks.

The seeds of the Zizania genus, first classified by Western science in the 1700s, found throughout the Great Lakes.

The manoomin's encased in holes and needs to be removed.

- For the Anishinaabe peoples, it made up a massive amount of our caloric intake over the winter, so we needed it to last, and so, we needed to dry it so that it would make it through the winter.

- [Jenna] Last fall in Detroit, Jared Ten Brink and Antonio Cosme explained the drying and hauling process.

- So how long would you let this rest out for?

- I think generally, it's a couple of days.

- Yeah, a couple of days if you have good sunlight and heat, a couple of days.

- With anything like this is that there's so many steps involved that there is a job for everyone.

- [Jenna] The next step, parching, more drying by fire.

The process, in times past, often along the river, the young and old pitching in.

- Historically, we would've done this exactly the same way, we would've built a fire and set copper kettle over a flame, and then, stirred and stirred and stirred.

You don't want it to get too hot, so we have the flame off to the side so the top part is hot and the bottom part stays cooler so that it doesn't cook the rice, you're just kinda toasting it in a way.

- [Jenna] From here, hulling time, the really old-fashioned way, jigging, rolling the grain underfoot.

But then, there's a hulling machine.

- [Jared] Right, so this threshes it, it tosses that grain around.

- These have been around for a while, the photo here goes back to the 1930s.

(light rattling) Jared Ten Brink borrowed this one for our demonstration.

All this leads to the bare grain, ready to cook.

Does wild rice taste different than regular rice that we're used to buying at the grocery store?

- The first thing I think that's important to note is that there's different wild rices.

This wild rice is more of a nutty flavor.

This is different than what you can buy typically in a store.

- What's your favorite thing to make with the rice?

Back at rice camp, Sam Barber's making dinner.

- [Sam] This was cooked for probably about 45 minutes.

- [Jenna] Seems like it's really popular serving that with maple syrup and... - Yeah, maple syrup and berries, that's a pretty... I think that's a pretty traditional way.

- [Jenna] Perhaps tradition is what you make it.

- I like fitting it into dishes and it just goes so well with so many different ingredients, like, you could put it in chili, you could put it in, you know, Middle Eastern dishes, you could put it in Asian dishes, either mixed in or as, like, a main start, and tacos with wild rice are really good too.

- [Jenna] Soup?

That's popular too, like at the Detroit North American Indian Center on the west edge of the city.

- Some of our foundational stuff, though, that we do is Earth honoring.

- [Jenna] This is the third annual manoomin soup cook-off.

The judges record their scores, Jesse Deerinwater presiding.

- Is first place with 23.5.

(people cheering) - [Jenna] The soups are served.

- [Person] What is the name of this soup here?

- It's butternut-squash manoomin soup, and then, I've got toppings for dried venison, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and dried cranberries.

- [Person] Thank you.

- Some of the recipes are, like, family recipes that folks have in their families that they've had for a while, other ones are just, like, general recipes that people know about because they're common soups throughout the Great Lakes and taking the concepts of, like, modern chefing, you know, you might say, mixing it with the old recipes and the old foods.

- Oh, it's amazing, yeah.

It's so delicious.

- [Jenna] Here, there's concern about water quality.

Preserving the environment is a theme of this gathering.

Sam Cooper lives in Petoskey.

- So there's a big connection between people that consider themselves to be water protectors and people that are trying to help support the manoomin and wild rice, and help it flourish in Michigan.

- A program underway, the Michigan Wild Rice Initiative, brings experts and stakeholders together.

They've created the Manoomin Stewardship Guide.

Vincent Salgado is part of the Initiative.

Are you working with the state to implement something as a result of the plan?

- Hopefully, with this plan, we're able to get the state agencies more involved in this work to restore manoomin by providing more resources and, like, more boots on the ground, but also, we hope this starts a dialogue for increasing protections for manoomin.

- [Jenna] In 2023, the state officially designated manoomin Michigan's native grain.

Where might more of it be grown?

It needs slower-moving, shallow, clean water.

People nearby need to understand and accept it too.

(plants rustling) - That rice used to grow in the Grand River and in the Muskegon River, doesn't grow there anymore, but maybe we take a dam out and it comes back.

- You know, not everybody's gonna want it, you know?

And that's fine, it doesn't have to be over there, but where it is, that it's protected and it should stay that way, like, especially... Like, this is all natural, you know?

And it just wants to be here.

- I look at places like Belle Isle.

That is a place where wild rice would've been, and that's a place where we could have it now.

- [Jenna] The conditions would need to be made right again, like up north on this part of the Au Sable.

- The rice is still here, it persisted, it survived, and we're still here, and we persisted and we survived, and we're not going anywhere.

- [Narrator] November 11th is Veterans Day, a time to pay tribute to all who have served in the United States military.

Among them are the famed Tuskegee Airmen of World War II.

They were the first all-African-American fighter pilot squadron.

The Detroit chapter of Tuskegee Airmen Incorporated works to preserve their legacy and to inspire young people to pursue careers in aviation, aerospace, and STEM.

"One Detroit" contributor Stephen Henderson of American Black Journal sat down with three members of the local chapter.

(upbeat electronic music) - Let's talk about that experience that you had in Korea and Vietnam as a member of the Air Force.

- Well, thank you.

The Korean War was a little different as far as the wars are today.

When I was in Korea, I was stationed at Kimpo, Korea, for those who have been to Korea, it's K-14.

Now, in Korea, the war was close to the time that the United States Air Force was formed, it was formed in 1947, and a lot of the NCOs and officers that were in the Air Force at that time were leftovers from the old Army Air Corps, and some of them were from the Deep South and they brought their prejudices with them, however, the Air Force changed as time progressed, I spent 23 years in the Air Force, later on in my career, I cross-trained and became an airborne load-master on C-141-type aircraft, C-141, in case you don't know, is a large... - [Stephen] It's a big cargo plane, right?

- Cargo aircraft, right, and some of the things that I remember is flying back from Vietnam with a quarter of that plane filled with containers which contained the human remains of servicemen that had been killed in Vietnam, and they are the heroes, they're the ones that we should be thinking about today on Veterans Day.

I also had the opportunity to go on the Honor Flight.

The Honor Flight is a volunteer organization, they don't use taxpayers' money or government money, it's all contributions, and the purpose of the flight is to take veterans to Washington, D.C.

to let them see the museums and the monuments that are dedicated to the veterans in remembrance of those who fought in the wars, and it was a very moving experience, especially to go to the Vietnam wall.

- Yeah, I'm sure.

- I have several friends that are on the wall right now.

I think every veteran has memories, some that they wanna forget and some that they don't wanna forget, and they have good and bad.

- Yeah.

You were part of the Nurse Corps, and that brings in a whole other set of experiences because women have not always been equally-treated members of the military either, talk about what kinds of experiences you had as a pioneer, really, in that space.

- Yes, you're so right, Steve, I am a person who was born in 1928, lots of people look at me now and they say, "Well, you were born before Christ," and I often tell them, "At least say Moses, not before Christ," however, I've had struggles along with obligations and I have weathered... So-called weathered the storm, and I started off in Virginia where I received my nursing... Registered nurse license, and this was in the 40s, however, it was a school called... Hampton, Virginia, Dixie Hospital, it was segregated and when I say, "Segregated," it was... We had a few... A couple of black nurses as instructors, but most of our instructors were white.

Moving on, I did graduate from Hampton, Virginia, my first job that I had after graduating in Virginia, I was working at a hospital and I was informed by some of the black nurses who was already at this hospital, "Bring your bag..." "Bring your food in a bag," and I had questioned it, but I did go and bring my food in a bag.

After I got there, we were at a table that consisted of non-black nurses, but we could see, at a distance, a glass panel room that had steam coming out of the tables, and those were for the white nurses and white doctors, however, the nine black nurses, we had a small room, there was no tablecloth and we were eating out of a bag, so I had a discussion with my father and I asked him, "What's going on?

What's happening?"

And he just said that... You know, that's the way Virginia is, I didn't understand it even though I had been a Virginia resident all of my life, I didn't know anything about the prejudice of separation of races, so I left and went to New Jersey, and soon after that, I found out that there was similar problems, but I was so happy that I left with an open mind that race would not keep me in a baffle of hate.

My mission always... And it came from my dad, he was a nurturing father, I didn't have a mother, and his following for us to follow was always be kind, know that man is a product of the spiritual world, he has a heart just like you, just think about being kind to people, so I worked there for six or seven years and discovered... Some few things that happened to me there was I had trained exchange students from Russia and Ireland, Scotland and the like, but as they went to school, I was working 3:00-to-11:00 because I was advised if you work 3:00-to-11:00 you can make more money, and therefore you could send it to your parents, and so, I fell for the act, however, those students that I was training, they became my supervisors, and I knew that that was a problem, so moving on from that arena, I was recruited, I was not drafted in the military, I was recruited and I was commissioned in Fort Jay, New York, as first lieutenant, and I was flown to San Antonio, Texas to follow through with my officer's training, and that was quite an ordeal for a person coming from Virginia and didn't even know the background of her own state, however, it was quite a learning experience, I had my nursing background and this is why I was chosen as... For the commission.

- Tony, it's amazing to hear these stories which I think a lot of people watching might think, "Well, this is all so long ago, it's all ancient history," but it is not that far from any of us.

- It really isn't, and I've had the honor and privilege of being the president of the Detroit chapter for a while now, and I'm always stunned and amazed at the stories, I still enjoy listening to them, this is my girl right here, so it's... And it's things that people need to understand, that's part of the purpose of the Detroit chapter of Tuskegee Airmen.

- Right.

I mean, this is preserving their stories for people now, and especially for our children.

- To communicate and educate young and old because you'd be surprised, a lot of seniors don't understand and know what Tuskegee is all about, and what they had to go through, so we travel, we give speech and engagements, we go to schools, and one of the things I will even quiz you about, Stephen, you've heard of the movie "Top Gun."

- [Stephen] Mm-hmm.

- Okay, what you may not have known, back in 1948, that was known as the aerial gunnery competition, at that time, the first winners of that competition were the Tuskegee Airmen.

- Oh, wow.

- We won it first.

A lot of people don't know that, and so, there is a trophy that is at Wright Patterson Air Force Base that... The first names on that trophy are Tuskegee Airmen.

We just lost one of the last combat pilots, James Harvey, just a few weeks ago, he was 100, so they're becoming few and far between, which is terrible, that breaks my heart, so we're hoping that in this political climate, things will get straightened away so that the veterans do not suffer in all this as well as the regular armed forces of men and women who serve right now actively in uniform home and overseas because they're the ones... These people here were the pathfinders.

They paved the way.

There is not a pilot of color in the United States right now, civilian or military, who do not owe their wings to the Tuskegee Airmen.

- That was a very... - [Narrator] And you can see more of the interview with members of the Detroit chapter of Tuskegee Airmen on American Black Journal on Veterans Day at 7:30 PM.

Let's turn now to "Destination Detroit," our new series that explores the region's rich history and the people who helped shape it.

Today, we hear from military veteran Dominic Palazzolo.

He explains how his parents met in Michigan after immigrating from Sicily, and he talks about serving in the U.S.

Armed Forces.

- After the service, I was able to go to Michigan State and complete my degree in education.

(upbeat string music) My parents, on both sides, came from Sicily, and my dad came to work in Ford Motor Company when he was about 16 years old, I know my mother and father met somewhere along the way, we have some pictures of them in Belle Isle in canoes when he was courting her and they married at the Holy Family Church, downtown Detroit, but we settled in Highland Park, all our family would always get together, Sundays were a family gathering all the time.

I was drafted in 1959, I had dropped out of college for a while and I was working at the J.L.

Hudson Company in the camera department, and then, at that time, they were doing a lot of drafting and also '59 is when I first came here, and I was trained out to Leonard... Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and then, from Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, my permanent base was a headquarters company at Fort Benning, Georgia, 87th Infantry Division.

After the service, I was able to go to Michigan State and complete my degree in education.

46 years in education.

(upbeat piano music) - [Narrator] For more "Destination Detroit" stories, go to onedetroitpbs.org/destinationde.

That'll do it for this week's "One Detroit," thank you for watching.

Head to the "One Detroit" website for all the stories we're working on, follow us on social media and sign up for our newsletter.

(upbeat electronic music) - [Narrator] Across our Masco family of companies, our goal is to deliver better living possibilities and make positive changes in the neighborhoods where we live, work, and do business.

Masco, a Michigan company since 1929.

- [Narrator] Support also provided by the Cynthia & Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit PBS.

- [Narrator] The DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit PBS.

Through our giving, we are committed to meeting the needs of the communities we serve statewide to help ensure a bright and thriving future for all.

Learn more at dtefoundation.com.

- [Narrator] Nissan Foundation, Michigan Central, and viewers like you.

(upbeat electronic music) (gentle piano music)