The practice of harvesting wild rice reaches back long before European settlers arrived in North America. Indigenous peoples across what is now central Canada were the first to gather the slender dark grain from the shallows of northern lakes, gliding through the tall stands in canoes and knocking the ripe heads into the hull, then parching the grain over a slow fire so it would keep through the winter. Early settlers were introduced to the food and soon adopted it themselves. For generations the grain was gathered painstakingly by hand, a slow and weather-dependent process that has since been steadily refined and supplanted by airboats, mechanical harvesters, and powered drying and sorting lines that permit far greater efficiency, consistency, and yield. Modern wild rice production therefore hardly resembles its origins in appearance or scale, having grown into a substantial industry in which the province of Saskatchewan supplies the overwhelming majority of the country's crop.

Over the past few decades, the reputation of wild rice as little more than a costly restaurant garnish has begun to dwindle. With closer study of its contents, many nutritionists today regard the grain in moderation to be a worthwhile addition to the diet, or even potentially protective. In addition, wild rice bran, the dark outer layer removed during milling, has attracted considerable attention. Marketed as a natural ingredient, it is now sold as a source of antioxidants for baking and breakfast cereals. Researchers investigating these compounds report that certain of them may also help to reduce inflammation in the body.