Generations of Family Traditions
By BENJI SAM, MASHKODE-BIZHIKIGAHBAW
TAPPING SUGAR MAPLES
Each spring as winter lets loose its firm grasp on the northland, the memories of sitting around a fire under a star-filled sky and the low rumble of sap boiling fills my head. A teaching as old as time in Ojibwe history, Iskigamizigan is a family tradition passed down from generation to generation. From boiling down sap in birch baskets to the newest evaporators, maple sugar has always been something that helps us Anishinaabe stay healthy and grounded in our culture and physical well-being. With warmer days upon us, our tradition has not changed but may look a little different than in years past.
Our family, as well as many others from our tribe, has tapped the same area for the better part of the last 30 years. But this year, we needed to be fed prior to tapping our own trees after the recent passing of the head of our family, David Amik Sam. On behalf of the Sam/Houle family, I would like to thank the Mille Lacs Band DNR office for their hard work and dedication to our people for harvesting enough maple sap to feed our family, and many others, after a year of such tragic loss. These folks often work behind the scenes to provide wood, fish, deer, rice, maple sap, and many other things to our tribe to help feed mourning and recovering families in time of need, and they deserve a thousand thanks for all the hard work they do.
Tapping sugar maples with my father, many aunties and uncles, cousins, and friends has been an annual tradition for us as long as I can remember. Some folks hang buckets, and some hang bags, but the hard work remains the same. The daunting task of heading to the woods once, twice, sometimes three times a day to stay on top of the sweet, sweet sap is something that helps make this process so rewarding. My father used to love this time of year and I remember my grandma Betty could sit by the fire for days on end. It is difficult taking part in it without him for the first time in my life.
Back when I was in high school, it wasn’t uncommon for us to tap 160-200 trees a year, and it almost became a full-time job outside of our everyday tasks. It never felt like a burden to me, I was just young and tried to do what I was told. This also became a year-round task as we tend to burn through wood as fast as you can notch and drop it. This year, we tapped just enough to replenish our own personal supplies for the year and to keep our family tradition alive.
While hanging taps this year, someone mentioned that my cousin Jon Houle and I are the old men of the family now and with that comes a lot of responsibility. We made the decision to retire a few of the old maples, grandfather trees I call them, and to set a few new taps in maples that have finally reached maturity. Using a team approach, we have been able to keep our tradition alive year in and out. It is so wonderful each spring watching the number of children out in the woods to help. Our young family has grown to over a dozen children under the age of 12 between my own, my siblings’, and cousins’ children, and each of them help as much as they are able.
I look forward to a few spring boils where we have too much food around, laugh until we cry, throw each other in the snowbanks and mud puddles, and just be together as a family. While we may have downsized our overall operation this year, we have continued to grow our tradition of tapping sugar maples to keep our family medicine strong.
