Sahan Journal is part of a six-part collaboration with the Institute for Nonprofit News, Borderless, Ensia, Grist, Planet Detroit, Wisconsin Watch, the Guardian, and Inside Climate News. The project was supported by the Joyce Foundation.

Cities throughout the Great Lakes region face similar crises, with archaic wastewater systems, crumbling infrastructure and segregated housing creating a perfect storm of flooding vulnerability from sources that range from excessive rain and overflowing lakes to storm surges and sewage system flooding. Rural areas, Indigenous communities and ecosystems in the Great Lakes also face severe risk from flooding, endangering hard-fought gains in environmental restoration and community development.

Preview the stories below.

Credit: Clockwise from top left: Dymanh Chhoun | Sahan Journal, Siri Chilukuri | Grist, Pat A. Robinson | Wisconsin Watch, Amy Sacka | Planet Detroit, Efrain Soriano | Borderless Magazine, and the Center for Neighborhood Technology
Wild rice, or manoomin as it’s called by the Ojibwe, grows in Ogechie Lake in Kathio Township, Minnesota, on June 29, 2023. Credit: Dymanh Chhoun | Sahan Journal

Wild rice threatened in northern Minnesota

Wild rice has been consumed by the Ojibwe and other Tribal Nations for centuries, and has garnered widespread appeal in the ubiquitous wild rice soup found on menus across Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. The rice is an aquatic grass that thrives in the shallow lakes and rivers of Minnesota. 

But manoomin, as the rice is called in the Ojibwe language, is threatened by changing climate conditions that are making the region warmer and wetter. Rising water levels at critical times are disrupting wild rice beds. Tribal, state, and federal governments are working to adapt to the changing environment to ensure manoomin lives on in Minnesota. 

But climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels is altering the environment, bringing fears that those preservation efforts may not be enough. For Tribal Nations, wild rice’s survival is not just about protecting the environment—it’s also about preserving a core part of their identity. According to traditional Ojibwe beliefs, their people were told to move west until they found food growing on the water. 

Read the full story here.

Grist: Flooding in South Shore

Wisconsin Watch: Milwaukee residents fear more flooding due to planned I-94 expansion

Planet Detroit: Climate costs imperil unique, diverse Detroit neighborhood

Borderless Magazine: As flooding increases in Cook County, many communities are left without funding

This project is a six-part collaboration that includes the Institute for Nonprofit News, Borderless, Ensia, Grist, Planet Detroit, Sahan Journal and Wisconsin Watch, as well as the Guardian and Inside Climate News. The project was supported by the Joyce Foundation.