Early Ojibwe-Spring
By: Nathan B
Maple Sugar.
In the spring the Ojibwe people set up sugar camps near maple trees. Women collected maple sap when the men went out to hunt. First, they went and cut a slit in all the male trees. Next, they put a wooden spout into the slit and waited for the sap to come out and pour into a birch bark container. Finally, people took the sap to the sugarhouse to be made into maple sugar. Children then poured the sap into kettles to be boiled over the fire. The maple sap then turned into sugar. As a prize for the children the adults gave them a little bit of sugar to eat. Making maple sugar was very important in the spring.
Canoe Making
An important thing to do during spring was to make canoes. First, people made a frame for the canoe out of cedar. After the frame was constructed the Ojibwe put strips of birch bark onto the frame and tied it together with twine. Finally, they used spruce gum to seal the canoe so there was no leaks. People from children to adults helped with the canoe. The children learning from elders or the adults. In the spring making canoes was very important.