ATFE Akwesasne Maple Project 2013

Submitted by David Arquette

Kakwitéhsti nikahá:wi Enniskó:wa tsi niwenhnì:tes ronterontahrá:raks. Thó:ne ó:nen teniethinonhwará:tons ne orontákeri. Thó:ne ó:nen tenhatihnekónkiehte ne orontákeri tsi ní:iore wahta óhses enhatihsestónnia’te. (In the springtime, in the month of March, they will tap the maple trees; then give thanks to the sap and then they boil the sap until it becomes maple syrup.)

It all started on March 2, 2013 when all the people gathered at the Kanonhsésne (longhouse) to perform Enhatihsestá:ta’a (putting in the sap ceremony). We select a speaker to burn tobacco for the trees and small bushes and we gave thanks especially to the maple trees for coming back from their deep winter sleep to give sap and maple syrup to the people. The speaker also asked Shonkwaia’tíson to look after the young men tapping the trees and collecting the sap in the woods, so nothing unfortunate would happen to them. He asked that it not be so windy so the young men do not get hurt from falling debris. Once Enhatihsestá:ta’a was completed, the young men were able to go out and tap the maple trees and collect the sap to make Maple syrup.

Fearing that the skills and Mohawk language used in maple sugaring was being lost in the Community, Shakoia’tiióstha (Dean George) began working hard to train the next generation of maple syrup makers. He has been boiling sap to make maple syrup at the Tsi Thatihsestonniá:tha (The Sugar Shack) at Tsionkwanatí:io for many years now. He would not have kept it going this long without the help from the people and other organizations in the community. This effort has always been a community project for people to come together to share stories and teach our youth to work hard and learn about our culture. Our elders remembered when there were many sugar shacks in all parts of Ahkwesáhsne. We could not afford to lose this important part of our culture.

We had a lot of friendly faces visit Tsi Thatihsestonniá:tha from the Ahkwesáhsne Freedom School and SRMT Head Start program and Skawatsíra program, Kaná:takon school. As soon as the kids get off the bus, we show them the sap in the buckets hanging on the trees. We let them taste the sap and then we show them how to tap the trees. We show them the evaporator that boils the water out of the sap until it becomes maple syrup. Then we share a legend with them of how maple syrup came to our people. We also tell them that making maple syrup is an important part of our culture, which is why we have to keep doing this so we don’t lose our language and this important cultural practice. Then the children leave with a small sample jar of maple syrup.

When the trees are about to bud, the sap will stop running and our harvest of wáhta óhses (maple syrup) is almost complete, the chiefs, clanmothers and Faithkeepers get together and set the date Wáhtha Ceremony so that everyone can come together and give our thanks, greetings and gratitude to Shonkwaia’tíson for bringing us sap to drink and maple syrup for another cycle of ceremonies. This happened on March 31, 2013.

The maple syrup generated from this project is donated to the Kanonhsésne to help supply fresh syrup for a whole year of cycle of ceremonies. Some is also donated to Ahkwesáhsne Freedom School spring pancake breakfast, which happened on April 14, 2012. Syrup is also given to the young men that help out at the sugar shack.

ATFE would like to thank all the people that donated their time and resources to the maple project at Ahkwesáhsne, especially Shakoia’tiióstha, John White, all of the young men who have helped out in any of the sugar shacks in Akwesasne, as well as the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and the MCA Community Fund for their generous donations of funds to purchase for supplies. Niawenkó:wa!