Next, the grains are roasted over the fire to loosen their husks. It is an exacting process. Too little heat and the husks won’t come off. Too much heat or too long on the fire and the precious manoomin will burn. The presence of fire during roasting harkens back to the words of the seven visionaries. Each one in turn had predicted seven different eras (or fires). Each generation would face a new set of trials before passing the torch to their descendants.

• The Seven Fire Prophesies
  1. Follow the sacred shell
  2. Stepping stones to the future
  3. Find the path to the food that grows on the water
  4. The faces of brotherhood or death
  5. A time of great struggle
  6. The will to live
  7. A New People emerge
  8. Lighting the Eighth Fire