Sugar Camp Begins: DNR CULTURAL RESOURCES BRINGS THE SPRING TRADITION TO AREA YOUTH

Story and photos by Vivian LaMoore, Inaajimowin Editor

For more than a decade, the Cultural Resources Department has worked closely with area youth and the Mille Lacs Band community to pass down cultural harvesting practices. These teachings include treaty rights — especially those connected to the 1837 Treaty - seasonal harvesting traditions, safety protocols, and the rules and responsibilities that guide each season, whether it is ricing, sugar bush, fishing, or gathering.

As Sugar Bush Camp begins this season, the department once again began to welcome youth to Iskigamizigan to learn the traditions of maple sugaring. Students from Nay Ah Shing Abinoojiiyag kicked the season off in late March. Soon more students from Nay Ah Shing, Isle, Onamia, Brainerd, Milaca, McGregor, and Hinckley-Finlayson, as well as youth from the Urban Area and the Band's communities of Aazhoomog, Minisinaakwaang, Chiminising, and Nay Ah Shing will all have the opportunity to experience this time-honored tradition.

Through hands-on learning, youth are guided in traditional practices such as identifying maple trees, selecting the proper side of the tree for tapping, determining the right height, and knowing when to insert and remove taps. They also learn about syrup storage, traditional cooking methods used to make syrup and sugar cakes, and the cultural importance of sharing and gifting the products they make.

Director of Cultural Resources Ga-be-giizhig, Todd Moilanen, emphasizes that these teachings are deeply rooted in traditional values — especially respect.

"Our ancestors — your ancestors - walked these same woods and tapped some of the same trees we are tapping today here at Iskigamizigan, which has been a part of Mille Lacs Band history for a couple hundred years," Ga-be-giizhig said. "They will remain a natural Iskigamizigan, providing important mashkiki (medicine) for future generations."