The harvest and preparation of wild rice is a process with many steps: collecting the long grains in your canoe is only the beginning. Next, the rice must be dried, parched, threshed and winnowed to separate the husks from the grains. Traditionally, this is done by hand using a birch bark winnowing tray. This course covers material selection and processing of white birch bark, black spruce roots, and willow stalks; and concentrates on construction of a traditional Native American-style winnowing tray. Students may choose between making their own small, medium or large winnowing tray (materials cost differs) or working collectively on a group tray (no materials fee) which will be used in the following Wild Rice Harvesting and Processing course.