Mαčé-sikʷan: Spring Begins
Mαčé-sikʷan means “spring begins” in the Penobscot language
Our Tender Table Workshop was led by Jasmine Thompson-Tintor of the Penobscot Nation. Over 30 BIPOC relatives from all over Wabanaki Homelands were in attendance.
After the period of rest, Sìkʷan (“it is spring” in Penobscot language) arrived in Wabanaki homelands. We celebrated its arrival on the equinox, welcoming in warmer weather and the waking of Mother Earth with a sunrise ceremony, a community breakfast feast, seed planting, and a sacred fire throughout the day.
The maple trees stirred as temperatures rose, ready for us to gather their sap for our annual syrup harvest. With the help of volunteers from all over, we tapped over 200 maple trees and collected 120 gallons of sap. Though the sap was flowing abundantly, we decided on a smaller harvest to give our maple stand a rest out of consideration for the unpredictable temperature changes we experienced over the last year. Our humble harvest provided us with three gallons of maple syrup to give to knowledge carriers who visit us throughout the year.
Maple syrup is among one of the first foods we receive from our plant relatives during this period of awakening and was the beginning of our activities on the land for the year. In April we collaborated with Tender Table for a day passing on wild foods teachings for members of the BIPOC community. Led by Jasmine Thompson-Tintor of the Penobscot Nation, we began the day with a welcome ceremony. Together, we walked the land, learning how to identify edible plants and their life cycles.
Using local ingredients such as acorn flour, fiddleheads, and moose meat, we prepared we made together with foods from the land. The menu included white cedar, cranberry iced tea sweetened with Nibezun’s maple syrup, moose meatballs made in nettle tea and topped with blueberry cedar sauce, wild edible salad, fermented dandelion and ginger, freshly harvested clams, and wild rice. We enjoyed some delicious cookies made with acorn and cornmeal, topped with a delicious maple glaze for dessert.
We closed our time together with a talking rifle, reflecting on our experiences from the day. During the circle, one participant shared, “Nibezun gave us an embodied experience of safety and freedom on the land that few BIPOC get to feel.”
Coming together to cultivate space for learning and healing together is at the heart of what we do at Nibezun. We look forward to creating more opportunities like these for the communities we are grateful to be a part of moving forward.
