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Indian sugar camp
“Indian sugar camp / Capt. S. Eastman, U.S. Army”; John C. McRae.; 1853
Image courtesy of the Library of Congress
Abenaki Nation bottles maple syrup with Abenaki citizens
Today, the Nulhegan Abenaki of Vermont (as well as many other Native American and First Nations communities across the U.S. and Canada) keep our sugaring traditions alive by continuing to produce and share maple sugar. At the Nulhegan Abenaki Tribal Forest located in Barton, VT, we produce and bottle maple syrup each spring utilizing modern technologies including an evaporator pan and glass containers for storage. Although the methods have changed, sugaring still functions as a time for our community members to gather and connect with the woods and one another. Through sugaring, we continue to cultivate a working relationship with the land, while practicing our language - Western Abenaki. Through sugaring, we are reminded to give thanks to the woods that have sustained our communities for generations, despite the hardships our ancestors faced.
In summation, it is my hope that more Vermonters will come to recognize the ways in which sugar maples, maple foods, and the forests that comprise our sugarbushes are culturally important to Indigenous communities, as well as how the modern practice of maple sugaring was first built from age-old Indigenous traditions. Like a growing number of world-class food products that are finally being recognized as having long cultural histories in the Americas, including maize, potatoes, beans, peppers, tomatoes, pineapples, papayas, chocolate, and vanilla, to name just a few, my hope is that the Abenaki history of maple will be celebrated and shared as a part of the sugaring story in Vermont.
Wliwni (thank you) to Brian Chenevert for sharing your knowledge and extensive research about Abenaki history and the history of maple sugaring with me. I would not have been able to complete this article without your expertise and primary sources you pointed me towards. I would also like to say wliwni to my grandfather - who has shared so many stories and has inspired me to continue exploring my Abenaki heritage. Also, I am grateful for my parents who have taught me how to make maple syrup and have shared their love of the land and food generously with those around them. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Matthew M. Thomas for sharing his archaeological expertise and passion for maple sugaring history with me.
If you are interested in learning more about the Abenaki relationship to the land and how the maple story is alive today in Abenaki-owned sugaring operations, please consider joining a virtual conversation between Chief Don and Vermont Land Trust forester and sugarmaker Caitlin Cusack titled “Traditional Abenaki Sugaring and Stories” which will take place on March, 25th from 7-8pm EST. Chief Don Stevens of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk – Abenaki Nation will share the maple syrup story and ancient Abenaki sugaring traditions. You can learn more and register for the event here.
Peer-reviewed books and articles for further reading:
Bruchac, Margaret. "Malian’s Song–Abenaki Language Glossary." Vermont Folklife Center (2006).
Calloway, Colin G. The Western Abenakis of Vermont, 1600-1800: War, Migration, and the Survival of an Indian People. Vol. 197. University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.
Day, Gordon M. "Western Abenaki Dictionary. Volume 1: Abenaki-English. Mercury Series, Canadian Ethnology Service, Paper 128." (1994).
Keller, Robert H. "America's Native Sweet: Chippewa Treaties and the Right to Harvest Maple Sugar." American Indian Quarterly(1989): 117-135.
Manore, Jean L. "The historical erasure of an indigenous identity in the borderlands: The western Abenaki of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Quebec." Journal of Borderlands Studies26.2 (2011): 179-196.
Nancy L. Gallagher. Breeding Better Vermonters: The Eugenics Project in the Green Mountain State.Revisiting New England: The New Regionalism. Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England (1999)
Park, Sunmin, Nobuko Hongu, and James W. Daily III. "Native American foods: History, culture, and influence on modern diets." Journal of Ethnic Foods3.3 (2016): 171-177.
Snow, Dean R. “The Ethnohistoric Baseline of the Eastern Abenaki.” Ethnohistory, vol. 23, no. 3, 1976, pp. 291–306. JSTOR,
Turner, Nancy J., and P. von Aderkas. "Sustained by First Nations: European newcomers use of Indigenous plant foods in temperate North America." Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae81.4 (2012).
Walter, Rosly. "The Wabanakis of Maine and the Maritimes: A Resource Book about Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, Micmac and Abenaki Indians with Extensive with Extensive Lesson Plans for Grades 4 Through 8” (1898)
Wiseman, Frederick Matthew. The voice of the dawn: An autohistory of the Abenaki nation. UPNE (2001).
Resources for Educators: Elnu Abenaki Tribe
Jamaica, VT Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation
Barton, VT Vermont Abenaki Artists Association Ndakinna Education Center
Greenfield Center, NY Decolonizing the History that is Taught in Schools Across the Abenaki Homeland by Vera Longtoe Sheehan
Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum What Is The Status Of The Abenaki Native Americans In Vermont Today?
Vermont Public Radio, November 4, 2016 Abenaki Indian Fact Sheet
Native American Facts for Kids Native Americans/ Native Vermonters (PDF)
The Vermont Movie Western Abenaki Dictionary & Online Language Lessons Weternabenaki.com The Western Abenaki Language : Youtube Channel By: Jesse Bruchac