04/24/2026
Sugar bush season is upon us! Every spring season in late March and early April Indigenous communities take part in the traditional tapping and processing of maple sap. 🍁
This long-rooted tradition is seen as a community gathering that signaled food sovereignty, sustainability, and connection to the land and what it provides after the end of the long winter months.
Today, this tradition is continuing with revitalization efforts being done in all tribal communities, especially urban indigenous communities in locations such as Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
These images were photographed at Heart of the Earth Survival School (of Minneapolis) in 1984 at their sugar bush camp. The school opened in 1972 as a push from AIM, the American Indian Movement, to have a place to educate Native youth within an urban setting. Heart of the Earth provided an alternative to public and Bureau of Indian Affairs schools that would place Indigenous culture at the center of its curriculum.
These pictures from MNHS collections were photographed by Randy Croce. Community members are listed:
Mady Moose
Porky White and Maggie Sengoge
