BRAIDING SWEETGRASS

Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
by Robin Wall Kimmerer

With an absolutely stunning originality, Robin Wall Kimmerer takes her vast knowledge of plants from her scientific viewpoint as a PhD and Professor of Environmental Biology, and combines it with her perspective as a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation to offer an alternate view on how we might look at the world and our place in it. Organized around the sweetgrass plant, Kimmerer seamlessly braids together Native American stories about various plants and their properties with her scientific knowledge about those same plants. She asks us to think about how humans are merely one type of being among many that inhabit the earth --animals, plants and celestial bodies among them. Instead of assuming we have all the answers, perhaps we can learn from these other beings.

Kimmerer writes with such beautifully poetic language and tells such well-crafted stories that I often found myself sharing them aloud with whomever was around. The author pulled me into her world and calmed me down, while at the same time challenging me to reconsider many of my assumptions. From a fascinating botanical analysis of corn silk to a spiritual awakening in a field of beans, from an analysis of witch hazel to the teachings of grass, Braiding Sweetgrass very gently encourages us to rethink the way we interact with the earth. And Kimmerer offers thoughts on how we might change our behaviors for the better.

Braiding Sweetgrass is like having a beautiful book of poetry that you can dip in and out of whenever you need a little refreshment. And who doesn’t need that right about now? Seriously, read this wonderful book. (Liz)