Press Release: Gov. Evers Announces Wild Rice Stewardship Council Members

State of Wisconsin sent this bulletin at 05/19/2026 10:15 AM CDT
Office of Governor Tony Evers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 19, 2026
Contact: GovPress@wisconsin.gov 
 
Gov. Evers Announces Wild Rice Stewardship Council Members
Created by Gov. Evers in 2025, council aims to boost statewide efforts preserving practice of wild rice stewardship
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today announced he has appointed 24 individuals to serve on the state’s new Wild Rice Stewardship Council, created by the governor via Executive Order #277 on Indigenous Peoples’ Day in October 2025. Members include representatives from each of the 11 federally recognized Tribes in Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), the Office of Environmental Justice, and the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC), as well as other individuals appointed by the governor.  

“We created the Wild Rice Stewardship Council to preserve the long-established practice of wild rice stewardship in our state and to ensure the state is a strong partner in supporting and respecting Tribal treaty rights, cultural practices, and food resources and those who have been hunting and gathering from Wisconsin’s lands and waters for centuries,” said Gov. Evers. “Wild rice is a critical part of food security and culture, and I am confident these 24 members will work diligently to promote the protection of wild rice in Wisconsin and ensure its presence for future generations.” 

Wild rice, or manoomin, is a culturally significant crop and important food source to the Native Nations of Wisconsin, serving as a central feature in Tribal agricultural practices, as well as community and culturally based traditions. However, habitat requirements for wild rice are fairly specific, and changing ecological conditions are putting Tribes’ ability to grow, cultivate, and harvest the crop on ceded Tribal lands and waters at risk.

The LCO v. Voigt decision, made by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit Court in 1983, upheld the rights of the Ojibwe Nations of Wisconsin to hunt, fish, and gather in the ceded territory, and preserving Native Nations’ long-established practice of wild rice stewardship in these fixed territories is critical to honoring this agreement. Therefore, Executive Order #277: 
  • Directs cabinet agencies to work with Tribal governments, GLIFWC, and other appropriate organizations to increase public awareness and education of Tribal Treaty Rights related to fishing, hunting, and gathering, including providing training to state employees;  
  • Directs the DNR to develop a plan to incorporate Indigenous languages and public education on signage at state parks;  
  • Creates a new Wild Rice Stewardship Council to help promote the protection of wild rice in Wisconsin and ensure its presence for future generations; and 
  • Designates the first week of September beginning in 2026 as “Wild Rice Week,” helping to raise awareness for and appreciation of the value of wild rice in the state.
The 24 members appointed by Gov. Evers for the new Wild Rice Stewardship Council include:
  • Karen Hyun, DNR secretary (DNR Designee); 
  • Adam Brok, DATCP administrator of the Division of Food and Recreational Safety (DATCP Designee); 
  • Katie Rosenberg, director of the Wisconsin Office of Environmental Justice; 
  • Miles Falck, GLIFWC Wildlife Section Leader; 
  • Dan Powless Sr., Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa; 
  • Kjetil Garvin, Ho-Chunk Nation; 
  • Rosie Gonzalez, Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa; 
  • John Johnson, president, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa; 
  • Eric McLester, Oneida Nation;  
  • Sagen Quale, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa; 
  • Conrad St. John, chairman, St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; 
  • Robert Van Zile, chairman, Mole Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa; 
  • Randall Wollenhaup, Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians; 
  • Heather Palmquist,Wisconsin Land and Water;
  • Tracy Hames, Wisconsin Wetlands Association;  
  • Allison Werner, River Alliance of Wisconsin; 
  • Greg Kidd, Ducks Unlimited; 
  • Peter David, Wisconsin’s Greenfire; 
  • Ben Wojahn, Wisconsin Lakes; 
  • Gloria Waabigwan Wiggins, Wisconsin Conservation Voters;  
  • Cody Kamrowski, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation;  
  • Wenona Wolf, Office of Gov. Evers;  
  • Terry White, At-Large Member; and 
  • Tina VanZile, Great Lakes Intertribal Food Coalition. 
There are currently two vacant council positions designated for the Forest County Potawatomi and the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. 

ADDITIONAL EVERS ADMINISTRATION EFFORTS TO HELP PRESERVE NATIVE TRADITIONS, HERITAGE, AND LANGUAGE STATEWIDE  
Wisconsin is home to 11 federally recognized Tribes, including the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Forest County Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk Nation, Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, Oneida Nation, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Sokaogon Chippewa Community, Mole Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians. 

In 2019, Gov. Evers signed Executive Order #50 to annually designate the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and Oct. 13, 2025, marked the seventh consecutive year that the state of Wisconsin has formally celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day. A copy of the 2025 Indigenous Peoples’ Day proclamation is available Gov. Evers’ website.

In addition to recognizing the annual observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Wisconsin, in 2021, Gov. Evers signed Executive Order #136, issuing a formal acknowledgment and apology for Wisconsin’s historical role in Indian boarding schools. The governor’s order also included a formal declaration of support for the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative.

Executive Order #136 built on these previous efforts of the Evers Administration to reaffirm the state’s commitment to respecting Tribal Sovereignty and fostering strong government-to-government relationships by bolstering the education and awareness of Tribal Treaty Rights and sovereignty and promoting stewardship to protect cultural wild rice resources.  

Additionally, the Evers Administration, through the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), has worked to support Tribal Sovereignty and Indigenous language and cultural preservation through WisDOT’s Dual-Language Sign Program, which launched in 2021 to collaborate with Native Nations in Wisconsin to install road signs on Tribal lands in both English and Indigenous languages. To date, 10 Tribes have installed dual-language highway signs as part of this program. Building upon that work, last July, Gov. Evers signed the 2025-27 Biennial Budget, in which he used his broad constitutional veto authority to ensure that all 11 federally recognized Tribes will receive $1 million each year for the next two years to help support Tribal programs and language revitalization efforts. 
 
An online version of this release is available here.
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