Moon of the Boiling Sap

Moon of the Boiling Sap

As the Moon of the Boiling Sap approaches (Iskigamizige-giizis), the ice breaks apart and the waterways re-open. The songs of migratory birds are heard again as the woodland creatures emerge from winter hibernation.

At White Earth, one of the most important “thanksgiving” ceremonies takes place when the sap flows freely as the days become warm and sunny and the nights are still freezing.

Spring is a time of renewal and abundance for the people.

The New Year begins in the spring with the flowing of the sap, the first thunders, and the budding of the trees. As the new seasonal cycles begin, the land becomes bountiful with food and medicine.

For hundreds of years, the beginning of the spring was marked by ceremony and the Sugar Bush camp. Sugar Bush camps have been part of Ojibwe culture for hundreds of years. Friends and families gather after a long winter and reunite to work in the Sugar Bush. Freezing nights and warm sunny days determine the length of the Sugar Bush season. Working the Sugar Bush is labor intensive, but it’s also a time to celebrate our community and heritage. In an average year, it takes approximately 40 gallons of maple sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup. Sugar bush season isn’t over until the temperature stays warm enough to make the trees bud.

Native Harvest’s Maple products are harvested and produced by White Earth community members at the Sugar Bush. Though it is sweet and tasty, Native Harvest’s all natural Maple syrup is known to be a naturally healthy food. It contains important minerals such as manganese, riboflavin, and zinc, calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, and potassium. Native Harvest Maple syrup is a fat-free food and has as no added coloring or preservatives.

When you purchase Native Harvest’s Maple syrup products, you are buying a healthy food and supporting important traditional Ojibwe family traditions and ways of life.  Celebrate renewal and the taste of spring with our delicious Native Harvest Maple syrup!