Final answer:
Ojibway women contributed to their society's subsistence economy by gathering wild rice, among other activities such as farming and foraging for plants, embodying the critical role of women in indigenous economies.
Step-by-step explanation:
Ojibway women collected "wild rice" as part of their society's subsistence economy. In the context of Indigenous North American societies, a subsistence economy is generally characterized by the gathering and hunting of food directly from the natural environment to meet immediate needs, rather than engaging in large-scale agriculture or trade. The Ojibway women, along with other Native American societies, played crucial roles in the subsistence economy, by not only gathering wild rice, but also by engaging in farming, harvesting other plants, and sometimes participating in the hunting of small animals and fish.
Such activities in indigenous societies clearly illustrate a division of labor based on gender, where women often took the lead in gathering plant-based foods and men typically handled the large game hunting. The Ojibway, much like other semi-sedentary indigenous peoples in North America prior to European contact, relied on natural resources like wild rice as a staple in their diet, adding a crucial carbohydrate source to complement hunted proteins.