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In early spring, when the days start to warm but the nights still dip below freezing, something magical happens inside maple trees. The shift between cold nights and warmer days creates pressure that gets the sap moving—rising up from the roots through the tree’s inner vessels like a natural pump.

This sap is sweet and full of energy, made from sugars the tree stored away during the summer. When a tree is gently tapped, the sap flows out, offering a taste of the changing season—a gift from the tree as it wakes up from its winter rest.

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Chef Zach Keeshig outside his new restaurant Naagan on the traditional territory of the Anishinabek Nation: The People of the Three Fires known as Ojibway, Odawa, and Pottawatomie Nations, also known as Owen Sound, Ontario.

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The team at LHF was thrilled to be able to visit Chef Zach Keeshig at his beautiful restaurant Naagan. He shared some of his recipes with us and talked about the importance of traditional foods and healthy eating.

Check out this video to see how Chef Zach makes his delicious Maple Sponge Toffee treat.

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Your feedback will help the Legacy of Hope Foundation develop this, and other curriculum projects in the future.

Survey Monkey Link

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XJG66FJ

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Created for LHF by student volunteer Suzan Kadri.

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Skill Building and Knowledge

Moving to Air on our wheel framework, we start to look more analytically at the issues of colonization, land use, and the skills, both traditional and modern, that are being explored by communities today.

Air is connected to thoughts, analysis and reasoning. This lesson asks us to think critically and learn new skills.

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Reflect on what you've learned so far and finish this sentence.

If the Land could speak she would want me to know...

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*** Insert Activity from link here, Maple 2

Tap a Tree

Indigenous peoples have been tapping Maple trees for generations. The maple tree produces a distinctly sweet and delicious sap which through a long and tedious process, turns into maple syrup. Maple syrup is tied to many traditions and stories of the Anishinaabe and the flow of the sap from the trees, often signals their new year.

For this activity, students will learn the processes of tapping a maple tree and how traditional Indigenous practices and commercial practices may differ.

Note to learners: This activity should only be done in the correct season when the sap is running and only on mature trees who will not be harmed by being tapped. The trees are our relatives and we take care of our relatives!

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In this space we would like to take the time to encourage you to provide resources for students who may need more support, options for on the land learning/fieldtrip, ASL translations, or to address neuro-diverse needs in your classroom.

Resources can include videos, worksheets, and online games. Each lesson provides plenty of content for teachers, and you are encouraged to tailor lessons to fit your timeframes, classroom dynamics, or grade level.

Teachers are encouraged to educate themselves about the lands and territories where they teach, and are invited explore connections with the content, and increase their own awareness of the Indigenous communities near them. Our interactive maps are a great place to start learning about the communities and organizations in your area.

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The Anishinaabe people's intricate understanding of the cosmos is deeply woven into their seasonal practices, particularly the harvesting of maple syrup in the spring. The appearance of the Mishi-bizhiw constellation, also known as the Great Lynx, signals the arrival of the spring season, marking the time for the Anishinaabe to begin their maple syrup camps. This constellation’s rise in the sky is not merely a guide for practical activities but is seen as a living presence that communicates the rhythms of the natural world to the people. The Anishinaabe follow these celestial cues to ensure that their harvesting aligns with the seasonal changes, demonstrating their deep respect for and connection to the earth and the cosmos. As they tap the trees and collect sap, the stars above are believed to guide their actions, reinforcing the spiritual significance of the maple syrup harvest within their cultural traditions.

Giiwedin-Anang, the Returning Home Star (Polaris), is central to the Anishinaabe star map and plays a critical role in guiding the community’s seasonal movements, including those associated with maple syrup production. Positioned as a fixed point in the sky, Giiwedin-Anang symbolizes stability and leadership, qualities that are mirrored in the Anishinaabe’s approach to their seasonal practices. As they prepare for the maple syrup harvest, the community looks to Giiwedin-Anang to navigate the timing and location of their camps. This celestial guidance ensures that their activities are in harmony with the changing seasons, reinforcing the interconnectedness of their cultural practices with the natural and cosmic order. The stars, seen as animate beings with their own spirits, are integral to the Anishinaabe’s way of life, offering both practical direction and spiritual insight as they engage in the time-honored tradition of maple syrup production.

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Gathering maple sugar the traditional Anishinaabe way (4 mins)

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Caleb Musgrave is a Mississauga Anishinaabe man from Rice Lake Ontario, who has been training in wilderness survival, bushcraft and traditional woodcraft since he was a child.

Check out this short video of Caleb, tapping a maple in the traditional Anishinaabe way.

What tools and equipment does Caleb need to tap the tree?

How was maple syrup used as currency?

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Gathering maple sugar the traditional Anishinaabe way

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In this lesson students will learn more about the hands on skills and knowledge required to care for the trees and harvest maple sap.

Students will explore traditional gender roles in maple sap harvesting, and learn about the tools and equipment used by Indigenous peoples for generations before European contact.

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Ziinzibaakwadgummig - The Sugar Bush (1. The Stories) (12 mins)

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This series of five videos shares how the Anishinaabeg learned about the sap of the maple tree and how to create sweet water, also known as Maple syrup.

Video Segments

1. The Stories (11:41 minutes)

2. Collecting Maple Sap (12:48 minutes)

3. Language (7:44 minutes)

4. Maple Trees (11:21 minutes)

5. Maple Sugar (14:25 minutes)

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National Centre for Collaboration in Indigenous Education

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Ziinzibaakwadgummig - The Sugar Bush (1. The Stories)

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Created for LHF by student volunteer Suzan Kadri.

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Wheel of Life: On the board draw a large circle divided by 8. As a class, discuss the knowledge, stories, and traditions of maple syrup you have learned so far. Use the prompts below to fill in each section as a class or in small groups.

1. How did First Nations peoples traditionally prepare the syrup?

2. What are some common ways maple sap is collected today?

3. Who was responsible for the maple sap harvest? What jobs did different people in the community carry out during the harvest?

4. Who is responsible for the maple sap harvest in modern times? How is the work carried out?

5. What products did Indigenous peoples make from the maple sap? How did they use it?

6. What are some popular products are made with maple syrup today?

7. Why were the trees considered so important to First Nations peoples?

8. Why are trees considered so important to us today?

Fill in the wheel to compare and contrast the maple sap harvest in traditional and modern times.

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Traditional Gender Roles During the Maple Sap Harvest

Men had heavier tasks like building structures; women managed trees and controlled all aspects of the maple harvest.

Men left camps for hunting and fishing, contributing to family food supplies.

Elders, especially grandmothers, were vital in passing on traditions and skills to the younger children.

Young girls learned important teachings during isolation lodges and their energy and strength contributed to the labor-intensive process.

Women played crucial roles as teachers in both Native and Euro-American cultures.

Women created various products: First-run syrup, last-run syrup, maple gum, hard maple sugar, granular sugar.

Native women held usage rights to sugar groves which were passed down to them, managed labor, assigned tasks, and taught younger generations the art of maple sugar production.

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First Nations family tapping maple trees for sap

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Maple sugar production techniques:

Native people used hot stones or repeated freezing methods for maple syrup before the introduction of metal pots.

With metal pots, women developed boiling techniques, and men constructed arbors for boiling kettles.

Native women practiced seasonal subsistence, relying on various food sources throughout the year. Maple sugar, a high-calorie food, played a crucial role in the annual seasonal round

Children were essential to harvesting the sap, helping to collect all the birch bark buckets from the trees.

Maple sugar, stored underground in birch bark containers, did not spoil and could be consumed throughout the year.

Average sugar bush: Up to 900 taps; experienced women placed around 300 taps daily.

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What is in a Tree?

It is no surprise that Maple would have a special place in the calendar. Like I said, for many Indigenous Nations, the Maple Moon signals a return to life, a new year and beginning of Spring. Where everything and everyone is beginning to wake up from their long rest. When winter rations may be running low, and when energy is needed, Maple trees are a great blessing as they bring sustenance, sweetness, utility and medicines. But as much as there is to celebrate at this time of rebirth, one can’t help but notice how much the forests and tree landscapes have changed. Sometimes it makes me feel lonely and sad.

A Community in Trees

Trees teach us about community and connection. Through their underground networks of roots, they send vital nutrients and messages to other members of their group, to warn of any dangers and to help bring strength to sick or weak members. Trees are known to have a Mother, have pulses and they support a whole ecosystem of creatures within themselves.

Trees also teach us about reciprocity. As humans, we need oxygen to breathe, to live. Forests like the Amazon Forest and Boreal Forest, are known as the lungs of the planet. When trees release oxygen, we humans breathe it in. When we exhale, we release carbon dioxide which trees use along with water and the sun's energy, to create food for themselves.

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Maple syrup was used as a form of currency or money. Reflect and write down what kinds of non-monetary currency you could use (ex: a skill you have, a toy, a song) and decide what the value will be.

What you would be willing to trade your currency for?

Divide the class into groups of 2 or 4, and use your currency to trade or barter with other students for their currency. Take turns explaining what you have to trade and why it's of value.

How did you come to agree on a fair trade?

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Guided Practice:
Listen to the audio clip below. Lead a discussion on Episode 41 of the Roots and Hoots Podcast with Barry Sarazin. Barry is a proud member of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation and is a traditional Powwow dancer and drummer. Barry has been involved with Anishinabeg community development since 1981 with the goals of fostering the traditional customs and practices of the Algonquin Anishinabeg First Nations.

On the Land Learning for High School Students (3:10)

Questions for discussion and reflection:

1. Question:

Name one of the activities that Barry talks about wanting to teach the students at the school. (1 point each)

2. Question:

How does Barry say this program contributes to reconciliation? (4 points)

Answer Key

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Ask yourself...What do you already know?

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Ask yourself...What do you already know?

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Use the prompts below to find out what you already know about Maple Syrup.

Teachers can create a Menti quiz, word cloud or chart to show student's answers.

What technology was needed to process the sap?

Discuss/describe traditional types of maple products

How do people collect sap today?

When does the sap run? What time of year can trees be tapped?