Myaamia Center (Maple Sugaring)

Each spring, students and staff from the Myaamia Center and students and staff from the Western Program tap ten sugar maple trees in Peabody Woods. Maple sugaring, the process of making maple sugar and syrup from maple sap, is a spring time traditional ecological activity among the Myaamia, who are better known as Miami Indians.

The Myaamia Center is an initiative of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma whose historic homelands include the land where Miami University sits today. The Center’s mission is to conduct research and develop programming to assist tribal educational initiatives aimed at the preservation of language and culture and to share what is learned in that process with non-tribal undergraduates at Miami University. Maple sugaring is a rich activity in terms of language teaching and cultural learning for students at Miami University. The tapping and processing is incorporated into both in-class and out-of-class activities and involves both Myaamia and non-tribal students in all phases of the process including the identification and selection of trees, tree tapping, trips to collect harvested sap, and the final stages of cooking the sap down to both maple syrup and sugar. Learn more about the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma; the Myaamia Center; and Myaamia history and ecology.

By George Ironstack, Myaamia Center Assistant Director and Program Director