Red Lake Nation Foods is owned and operated by the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians in Redby, Minnesota. The company was founded in 2005 as an effort to create jobs on the reservation and support food sovereignty. SweetGrass is proud to offer Red Lake Nation Foods wild rice, pancake mix and chokecherry jelly and syrup.
According to the Red Lake Nation foods website, the company is “wholly owned and operated by the Red Lake Band of Chippewa and is dedicated to producing unique specialty products which represent our cultural heritage for the benefit of over 10,000 members of the Red Lake Nation.” The company currently employs seven total employees.
The company offers various food products, one of the most popular being wild rice. The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians grow and harvest the wild rice they sell.
Wild rice has a long, rich tradition with the Ojibwe. Wild rice is high in fiber, low in fats and contains complex carbohydrates. It is high in quality protein and contains only 114 calories per half cup serving. Uncooked wild rice keeps up to 10 years when stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
Red Lake Nation wild rice contains more than 12 grams of protein and is significantly higher in protein than white rice or most other grains. Wild rice has more niacin — a compound that can treat high cholesterol — than brown rice and is a good source of other B vitamins.
Red Lake Nation Foods also produces snacks such as teas, coffee, jams and jellies. The berries used to produce the fruit jellies and syrups are purchased from tribal members and produced at the facility in Redby. Red Lake also recently started making their own wild rice pancake mix and wild rice flour on site. They also offer Ojibwe beadwork, handcrafted birchbark gifts, sage bundles and Abalone shells.