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They say that the time to gather Wiigwaas (Birch bark) is when the flies start biting. Gathering Birch bark in late June / early July is a long time tradition of Ojibwe people in the great lakes region. Birch is one of the most important resources of the people; it was used for every day survival. Birch bark was essential for making wigwams (dwellings), making containers of all kinds, cooking, gathering water, making canoes, and in burials. The bark of the birch tree is versatile and beautiful. It is still essential to our people today; it is part of who...

Have you ever wondered what some of our Ojibwe words mean? Check our Sugaring Vocabulary (Ojibwe Language)! anishinaabe-ziinzibaakwad  maple sugar atoobaan a large container for liquid: a trough, a tank, a vat, a sink, a radiator biskitenaagan  a sap bucket of folded birch bark gaashkakokwe'igan  a paddle for stirring boiling maple sap iskigamizigan  a sugar bush, a sugar camp makak a semi-rigid or rigid container: a basket (especially one of birch bark), a box naseyaawangwaan a sugaring trough naseyaawangwe  s/he granulates sugar negwaakwaan  a tap, a spile, a spigot (for getting sap from a tree) Okaadakik a large kettle or cauldon...

When you buy products from Native Harvest, you support environmentally friendly food harvesting and production. Do you enjoy our maple syrup and birch bark baskets? If you do, you may be interested to know that climate change models predict a large decline of Sugar Maples and Paper Birch trees due to warming that is taking place as a result of climate change. Paper Birch trees and Sugar Maple trees need specific soil conditions to thrive. The warming climate impacts the soil moisture levels and affects the ability of the trees to draw nutrients and water from the soil. Declining populations...

Native Harvest Maple Syrup is hand harvested by the people of White Earth. Making maple syrup is an ancient tradition of our people. It was the native people who showed the colonists how to make maple sugar and maple syrup; one of the many skills that enabled the settlers to survive. Each spring, during Moon of the Boiling Sap, known as Iskigamizige-giizis in the Ojibwe languge, Ojibwe families would return to the same stand of maple trees where they had established sugar bush camps. Some sugar camps have been in the same family for many generations.   The right time...