Braiding Sweetgrass

Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

Hardcover, 391 pages

English language

Published Oct. 15, 2013 by Milkweed Editions.

ISBN:
9781571313355

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5 stars (4 reviews)

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.

9 editions

A look through the lenses of the Potawatomi

3 stars

This book is a golden opportunity to get to know a bit of First Nations world view and relationship with the environment, their mythology, traditions, even nuggets of linguistics. For this reason alone I'd recommend this as a read for anyone who hasn't made such contact before.

Some parts are definitely very emotional and touching, specially regarding the sorrows brought upon the land and people subject to such destruction brought by colonizers. I can't say it was a very engaging read, though. Some chapters felt very loosely connected, some sections read like rambling or very superficial criticism, borderline naturalistic platitudes. Reminded me a lot of the idealistic Brazilian Indian Romanticism, but in a modern essayist format with a touch of scientific backing special to the author.

Scientific and Spiritual

5 stars

Robin writes of her life as an ecologist and a native American. Her appreciation for plants and animals blends scientific rigor with spiritual connection and stewardship. The book is a memoir of her attempts to reconcile science, capitalism, and her native understanding of our world. The other living beings around us have so much to teach, and we have a responsibility to learn.

Subjects

  • Kimmerer, Robin Wall
  • Indian philosophy
  • Ethnoecology
  • Philosophy of nature
  • Human ecology--Philosophy
  • Nature--Effect of human beings on
  • Human-plant relationships
  • Botany--Philosophy
  • Potawatomi Indians--Biography
  • Potawatomi Indians--Social life and customs