Environment | Page 35

Maple sugaring paddle

Paddle used for working maple sugar by the Big Bear family (White Earth Band of Ojibwe) ca. 1800s.

Sap bucket formed from a single piece of birchbark folded together at the ends and sewn with basswood strips to form an oval dish. It was used for gathering sugar maple sap to be refined into syrup or sugar. From the Bois Forte Reservation, Minnesota, circa 1880.

Metal sap spigot

Metal spigot used to direct maple sap from a tree. Used by the Red Lake Band of Chippewa, 1920–1925.

Maple Sugaring and the Ojibwe

Ojibwe people have made maple sugar, a traditional dietary staple, for centuries. It is easily accessed in the woodlands of Minnesota and can be stored for months without spoiling. While the technology used in the process has changed over the years, Ojibwe people continue to harvest maple sugar in the present day.