Sagen Lily Quale, a graduate student in agroecology, is sharing Indigenous knowledge of and respect for manoomin, or wild rice, in a video that has been named one of 35 finalists in the 2025 Planet Forward Storyfest Competition. Quale’s submission is entitled, “Seeding Stories: Manoomin and Anishinaabeg relations.”

Almost 50 universities contributed to this year’s contest, which provides a platform for emerging storytellers to share innovative narratives about sustainability, climate solutions and the planet’s future. Winners of the competition will be announced at the Planet Forward Summit on April 17 in Washington, D.C. Finalists are also in the running to win an expedition to the Galapagos Islands with Planet Forward and Lindblad Expeditions. Watch Quale’s 8-minute video and vote for your fan favorite.

Ahead of the summit, we asked Quale to share more about herself, her video and her work.

Tell us about yourself and your graduate work.

Boozhoo, hello, my name is Sagen Lily Quale, and I am an enrolled citizen of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. I’m in my first year of UW’s agroecology master’s program. I’m someone who enjoys working with and in Indigenous food sovereignty projects, and I’m a farmer and a harvester of manoomin, or wild rice. My work focuses on gathering stories about manoomin and using that knowledge to lead stewardship of this plant relative. 

Have you worked with Planet Forward in the past?

I am in Ilíiaitchik: Indigenous Correspondents Program (ICP), which is an organization that is part of Planet Forward. ICP works towards getting Indigenous students nationwide involved in storytelling, which can range from videos to photo essays to short written pieces. It is a year-long cohort program that holds monthly online workshops to build storytelling skills.

Why did you decide to produce a short video for the competition?

I decided to produce a short documentary based on the interviews I had already collected for my master’s thesis. I was able to do those interviews on a Blackmagic camera, which is a very high quality cinema camera, and I knew that I wanted to share the stories that were shared with me in a way that could reach the hearts and minds of many. 

Why did you want to focus on manoomin and the people you interviewed for your video?

My video highlights stories about manoomin that were shared with me from a few folks who are from Waswagaaning, or Lac du Flambeau. I got to connect with everyone in the video by being actively engaged in place-based research and attending community events. I myself, being Anishinaabe, hold a deep relationship with this plant relative and knew others do as well. I wanted to convey that deep-rooted relationship to a plant that is seen as more of a relative and a being that holds its own spirit. That spirit has fed folks of the Northern Great Lakes area for as long as time can trace back, but it has been declining through colonization of Native lands as well as climate change. People need to hear about what that decline means for Anishinaabe people and their community. But they also need to hear about the resiliency of a people and a plant that continue to thrive through a reciprocal relationship with one another. 

What does being named a finalist in the competition mean to you?

Being a finalist in the competition gives validation that Native voices and stories are important and need to be put at the forefront for stewardship and management. I was simply a vessel to give a platform to voices that often go unheard. I give all of my credit to those who have shared their knowledge with me and have therefore shaped how I understand manoomin today.

Are you attending the Planet Forward Summit later this month?

I am attending Planet Forward Summit in DC and am excited to connect with other Indigenous storytellers that I have only been able to talk to on Zoom for the past eight months. I am honored to be helping host a workshop with Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso, who is a brilliant storyteller and videographer. The workshop will focus on perspectives in media/storytelling, how dominant media center white male voices, and how we can work towards more accurate and appropriate representation.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I hope that more people can learn about ICP and that Indigenous stories are able to be told by Indigenous people. For too long history has been written about Native folks by non-Native people, and it is time for that narrative to change. I am beyond grateful to be a small part of that big change. If people are so inclined, they can vote for my video as a “fan favorite” on the Planet Forward website, where I could win a trip to the Galapagos Islands! Chi-Miigwech!