Braiding Sweetgrass : Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on “a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise” (Elizabeth Gilbert). Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return. An Inspired Weaving Of Indigenous Knowledge, Plant Science, And Personal Narrative From A Distinguished Professor Of Science And A Native American Whose Previous Book, Gathering Moss, Was Awarded The John Burroughs Medal For Outstanding Nature Writing. As A Botanist And Professor Of Plant Ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer Has Spent A Career Learning How To Ask Questions Of Nature Using The Tools Of Science. As A Potawatomi Woman, She Learned From Elders, Family, And History That The Potawatomi, As Well As A Majority Of Other Cultures Indigenous To This Land, Consider Plants And Animals To Be Our Oldest Teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer Brings These Two Lenses Of Knowing Together To Reveal What It Means To See Humans As The Younger Brothers Of Creation. As She Explores These Themes She Circles Toward A Central Argument: The Awakening Of A Wider Ecological Consciousness Requires The Acknowledgement And Celebration Of Our Reciprocal Relationship With The World. Once We Begin To Listen For The Languages Of Other Beings, We Can Begin To Understand The Innumerable Life-giving Gifts The World Provides Us And Learn To Offer Our Thanks, Our Care, And Our Own Gifts In Return-- As A Leading Researcher In The Field Of Biology, Robin Wall Kimmerer Understands The Delicate State Of Our World. But As An Active Member Of The Potawatomi Nation, She Senses And Relates To The World Through A Way Of Knowing Far Older Than Any Science. In Braiding Sweetgrass, She Intertwines These Two Modes Of Awareness--the Analytic And The Emotional, The Scientific And The Cultural--to Ultimately Reveal A Path Toward Healing The Rift That Grows Between People And Nature. The Woven Essays That Construct This Book Bring People Back Into Conversation With All That Is Green And Growing; A Universe That Never Stopped Speaking To Us, Even When We Forgot How To Listen-- Planting Sweetgrass -- Tending Sweetgrass -- Picking Sweetgrass -- Braiding Sweetgrass -- Burning Sweetgrass -- Epilogue : Returning The Gift. Robin Wall Kimmerer. Subtitle From Dust Jacket. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 387-388). "An inspired weaving of indigenous knowledge, plant science, and personal narrative from a distinguished professor of science and a Native American whose previous book, Gathering Moss, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing. As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowing together to reveal what it means to see humans as "the younger brothers of creation." As she explores these themes she circles toward a central argument: the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgement and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the world. Once we begin to listen for the languages of other beings, we can begin to understand the innumerable life-giving gifts the world provides us and learn to offer our thanks, our care, and our own gifts in return"-- Provided by publisher Title page Copyright Dedication Contents Preface Planting Sweetgrass Skywoman Falling The Council of Pecans The Gift of Strawberries An Offering Asters and Goldenrod Learning the Grammar of Animacy Tending Sweetgrass Maple Sugar Moon Witch Hazel A Mother's Work The Consolation of Water Lilies Allegiance to Gratitude Picking Sweetgrass Epiphany in the Beans The Three Sisters Wisgaak Gok penagen: A Black Ash Basket Mishkos Kenomagwen: The Teachings of Grass Maple Nation: A Citizenship Guide The Honorable Harvest Braiding Sweetgrass In the Footsteps of Nanabozho The Sound of Silverbells Sitting in a Circle Burning Cascade Head Putting Down Roots Umbilicaria: The Belly Button of the World Old-Growth Children Witness to the Rain Burning Sweetgrass Windigo Footprints The Sacred and the Superfund People of Corn, People of Light Collateral Damage Shkitagen: People of the Seventh Fire Defeating Windigo Epilogue: Returning the Gift Notes Sources Acknowledgments About the Author As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, the author has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to the Americas, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers. In this book, she brings these two lenses of knowing together to reveal what it means to see humans as "the younger brothers of creation." As she explores these themes, she circles toward a central argument: the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgement and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the world. Once we begin to listen for the languages of other beings, we can begin to understand the innumerable life-giving gifts the world provides us and learn to offer our thanks, our care, and our own gifts in return. -- Description from back cover "As a leading researcher in the field of biology, Robin Wall Kimmerer understands the delicate state of our world. But as an active member of the Potawatomi nation, she senses and relates to the world through a way of knowing far older than any science. In Braiding Sweetgrass, she intertwines these two modes of awareness--the analytic and the emotional, the scientific and the cultural--to ultimately reveal a path toward healing the rift that grows between people and nature. The woven essays that construct this book bring people back into conversation with all that is green and growing; a universe that never stopped speaking to us, even when we forgot how to listen"-- Provided by publisher As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass , Kimmerer brings these lenses of knowledge together to show that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings are we capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learning to give our own gifts in return.