Maple Sugaring Demonstration and March 9, 2019

Driving through the Litchfield Hills in March you can't help but notice the network of plastic tubes and buckets that collect sap from maple trees.  The sugaring off process resulting in the golden deliciousness we know as maple syrup has a long history in New England.  The timing for sugaring is critical and only happens once a year because when the maple trees start to bud, the sap becomes bitter. Today collecting and boiling down sap is a labor-intensive process even with all the advantages of modern technology.  Native Americans were experts at collecting the sap and boiling it down using the most basic techniques and materials collected from the environment that they lived in.  They found many uses for maple syrup from making medicine taste better and sweetening food to using it as a preservative.  

Historic records indicate that the collecting and processing of maple sap was a social as well as a working occasion.  Women would tap the trees; men would cut the wood for the fire needed to boil the sap, and children tended to the sap as it boiled.   The Maple Sugar Festival at the Institute for American Indian Studies located on 38 Curtis Road in Washington, Connecticut is the perfect event for learning, socializing, and celebrating maple sugar as the first sign of spring.  The Maple Sugar Festival will be held this year on March 9 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Institute.  Visitors are invited to join the staff along with nationally recognized Primitive Technologists, Jeff and Judy Kalin in the outdoor Algonquian Village for an afternoon celebrating the gift of maple syrup.  

The Kalins will demonstrate the traditional technique of collecting sap using only stone and wooden tools. Stone was used because pottery or wood containers alone would not have been able to withstand the direct heat.  The key to how water was evaporated from the sap using only natural means will be a highlight of the Kalin's demonstration.  They will also talk about the importance of maple sugar to the diet of Native Americans as well as its usefulness as an item of trade.

An added sweet bonus of this event is the “made from scratch” pancakes served up with local maple syrup, coffee, and orange juice. The Maple Syrup Demonstration is noon – 3 pm., the Pancake Brunch is 11 am – 2 pm and children’s activities are 11:30 am – 2:30 pm. The cost is $15 for adults, $13 for seniors, children are $10 and members of the museum $5.

About Primitive Technologies

PTI has built nearly 200 aboriginal structures both free standing and congregated in villages using only the tools and practices of the time such as stone axes, flaked hand tools, and fire. In his work, Jeff Kalin, owner of PTI uses only primitive tools that he has made himself.

PTI has created the village at the American Indian Archeological Institute in the style of the Eastern Woodland Indians.  This reconstructed village was created to look, as it would have in the 16th century prior to European contact.  There are several wigwams and a longhouse in the village. The structures are covered in thatch or bark.

Mr. Kalin is recognized as an expert in stone tool replication and is a consultant to museum curators and archeologists in the analysis of artifacts.  He has constructed prehistoric sets for filmmakers and his wood-fired replica pottery hand built from river clay is in private and public collections

About The Institute for American Indian Studies

The Institute for American Indian Studies preserves and educates through discovery and creativity the diverse traditions, vitality, and knowledge of Native American cultures. Through archaeology, the IAIS is able to build new understandings of the world and history of Native Americans, the focus is on stewardship and preservation.  This is achieved through workshops, special events, and education for students of all ages.

 Located on 15 woodland acres the IAIS has an outdoor Three Sisters and Healing Plants Gardens as well as a replicated 16th c. Algonkian Village.  Inside the museum, authentic artifacts are displayed in permanent, semi-permanent and temporary exhibits from prehistory to the present that allows visitors a walk through time. 

The Institute for American Indian Studies is located on 38 Curtis Road in Washington Connecticut and can be reached online or by calling 860-868-0518.

Medicinal Monday - Magical Maple Syrup

Early in the spring, the magic of the maple begins. When the temperatures drop below freezing at night and go above freezing during the day, the sap of the sugar maple begins to run.  It rises up from the maple’s roots bringing sweetness and nourishment to the tree. When the trees start to bud (and the temperature gets a bit warmer) and the land awakens, the sap ceases running for the year.  Native Americans had many uses for maple syrup from using it to sweeten food and medicine to using it as a preservative.

A Native American maple sugar camp, 1853. Library of Congress

About the Maple 

The scientific name of sugar maple is Acer saccharum. This tree is native to North America and is the most commonly found species amongst the seven types of maples. It grows in abundance throughout southern Ontario, Nova Scotia, New England, Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Mid-Atlantic states. 

 It grows in deep, well-drained moist slightly alkaline soil. Full sun and partial shade are preferred with a minimum of four hours of direct sunlight a day.  The sugar maple is a slow-growing tree with height increases of anywhere from 12 to 24 inches a year with an average height of 60 to 75' and a spread of 40-50' when this tree reaches maturity.  Some sugar maple trees can grow up to 100 feet tall in optimal conditions.

The brown buds of the sugar maple are pointed, and the color of the flowers range from pale to greenish yellow with the male flower being the pistillate and the female flower the staminate. It has dark green singlet leaves that grow to three to five inches long and are very smooth.  This tree produces huge quantities of seeds that provide food for animals. The seeds are also capable of germination.  In addition to the sap, this tree is also known for its' spectacular red-orange and yellow foliage in the fall.

An Ojibwe woman prepares birch bark containers to collect sap, 1908. Courtesy Library of Congress

Medicinal and Culinary Uses

Native Americans honored the maple tree in ceremonies each year to ensure good maple harvests.  The tribe would gather around the tree, also known as a "sugarbush" and address it in ritual language and offer the tree tobacco incense.  The sap was considered a delicacy and one Ojibwa legend mentions a maple syrup feast.  It was often prepared as a cool drink with herbs in the warm months and made into a hot tea with a variety of roots, leaves, and bark in the winter. It was also used as a basic seasoning year round, eaten with grains, fish, fruit, vegetables and dried berries.  Maple syrup could be stored for well over a year making it a valuable food source and was frequently eaten as candy for quick energy.  It was also used as a preservative.

The Mohegans used the inner bark as cough medicine and the Potawatomi used the inner bark as an expectorant.  The Iroquois made a decoction of maple leaves and used it as a wash for rashes. They also used an infusion of bark to treat sore eyes and blindness. One of the more interesting uses of the sap was as a blood purifier.

Did you know...

It takes at least forty years for a sugar maple tree to grow before it is big enough to tap.

On average, a tapped maple tree will produce ten to twenty gallons of sap per tap.  Most trees have just one tap.

The first full moon during sap running season is called the Maple Moon or the Sugar Moon.

The sugar maple is one of America's favorite trees and more states have claimed it as their state tree than any other species.

Squirrels, whitetail deer, snowshoe hares, and moose feed on the seeds, twigs, and leaves of the sugar maple.

John Smith was among the first settlers that noted the Native Americans' sugar processing and the fact that they used it for barter.

In 2001 baseball player Barry Bonds switched from an ash wood baseball bat to one made of maple and hit 73 home runs!

The national champion for the sugar maple is located in Charlemont, Massachusetts.  It is 112 feet tall with a diameter of 6.18 feet with a crown spread of 91 feet with a total point count of 368.

A sugar maple tree in Lyme, Connecticut measured in 2012 measured 123 feet tall with a circumference of 18.25 feet and a crown spread of 86 feet with a total point count of 364.

The Magic of Native American Courting Flutes

The Institute of American Indian Studies in Washington has a perfectly unique way to top off Valentine's Day week.  On Saturday, February 16 from 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m., Ojibway artist, and musician Allan Madahbee will explain the cultural significance and the hauntingly beautiful sound of the Native American courting flute.  The flute is deeply rooted in the traditions of Eastern Woodland Indian indigenous peoples. 

Today, makers of Native American Flutes like Ojibway artist and musician AllanMadahbee craft their personal style and sound into their creations.   Madahbee began to research the Chippewa flute culture and was influenced and mentored by Joseph Firecrow of the Cheyenne Nation. "We became friends and he provided guidance and feedback and explained some of his methods of flute making. With his passing last year, we have all lost a great Native American flute maker and musician. I am proud to continue our flute making traditions." The sound of the courting flute that is usually made of cedar has an uncommon scale for Western music and is entrancing.

Born on the shores of Lake Huron, Allan Madahbee is a member of the Ojibway (Chippewa) Nation that has pursued the traditional arts and crafts of his ancestors. He has been making Native American flutes for about ten years. "I had always thought they were a product of the Southwest Indian tribes, but a book that I found that was written during the 1800s about Chippewa culture, had a passage about the Chippewa flutes, along with pictures. This made me realize that they were indeed a part of my Chippewa culture. Knowing that my ancestors constructed these flutes for hundreds of years has inspired me to continue this tradition. Also, the haunting sound from these mystical instruments is a large part of my inspiration."

Along with constructing Woodland flutes, beaded moccasins, woodcarvings, Native American regalia, and rock sculptures, Madahbee always returns to his artistic roots in paintings. Mainly self-taught, Madahbee attended school with fellow Ojibway artists Blake Debassige and James Simon - two well known Anishnawbe artists that are respected and have their paintings displayed around the world.

Space is limited and reservations are suggested.  To make sure you get a spot call the Institute for American IndianStudies at (860) 868-0518 or email general@iaismuseum.org to reserve your spot.  The program is included in the price of admission: $10 adults; $8 seniors; $6 children; IAIS Members free.

About The Institute for American Indian Studies

The Institute for American Indian Studies preserves and educates through discovery and creativity the diverse traditions, vitality, and knowledge of Native American cultures. Through archaeology, the IAIS is able to build new understandings of the world and history of Native Americans, the focus is on stewardship and preservation.  This is achieved through workshops, special events, and education for students of all ages.

 Located on 15 woodland acres the IAIS has an outdoor Three Sisters and Healing Plants Gardens as well as a replicated 16th c. Algonkian Village.  Inside the museum, authentic artifacts are displayed in permanent, semi-permanent and temporary exhibits from prehistory to the present that allows visitors a walk through time. 

The Institute for American Indian Studies is located on 38 Curtis Road in Washington Connecticut and can be reached online or by calling 860-868-0518.