One of three small Chippewa Nature Center Murals, this work of art by historical muralist Susan A. Walton, of S. A. Walton Studio in Hudson, Florida, depicts a Native American family in winter, working in the Michigan sugarbush to collect maple sap and with great care and constant stirring, cook it down past the syrup stage to make maple sugar for long term storage. These lands were a family-managed plot of woodland for sustainably producing this valuable and much appreciated commodity year after year. The process involved the early preparation of watertight bark sap containers, paddles, wooden troughs, and storage containers for the final product. Wood had to be laid up in quantity well ahead of time to be dry enough for fires to boil the water out of the collected sap, and food gathered for preparing meals for all those involved. Shelter had to be constructed for everyone to keep warm during sugaring season, because sugaring was a big event which took time.

The resulting sugar was used not just as a sweetener and a treat but also to season meats and fish, and probably as a trade item.

The Chippewa Nature Center is in Midland, Michigan, and typically holds demonstrations of the maple sugaring process for the public.

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