Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
(Format used for this read: Audiobook)
This book has been highly recommended to me by so many different people, of many different backgrounds and for many different reasons.
It has been on my TBR list now for about two years.
I have a confession to make….I wasn’t too excited to read this.😬
Namely because of two words in the title: Science and Plants.
Truth be told, those are not two things that I enjoy reading about or learning about.
I have never really been a “one with nature” kinda person.
My idea of gardening has always been buying produce or flowers from the grocery store and my idea of camping involves air conditioning and indoor plumbing.
And even though both of my parents had careers in scientific fields (my mom was a nurse and my dad was an oceanographer), all those types of genetic traits that enjoy those types of things went straight to my sister….every last one.
I got zero of them.
I preferred learning and doing anything related to music and writing and literature and art and theatre…not so much anything else 🤣
But the older I get, the more I try to educate myself on topics I do not know much about.
I also try to challenge myself by learning about topics that are “outside my lane”.
Such as science and plants.
What finally pulled me into reading this book though was the other part of the title…the part that says “Indigenous Wisdom”.
I have realized I really need to take the time to learn more about the indigenous people of the land I live on…the land my ancestors violently stole from them….and also desecrated and destroyed.
I need to take the time to listen and learn about their culture, their way of life, their teachings and their wisdom.
And since a couple people I know with Native American heritage have been part of the people who have recommended this book to me, I realized I should finally get over myself and read it.
Here is the official summary:
“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.”
The way this author speaks about science, the Earth and the universe is melodiously beautiful.
I know that sounds like a very strange way to describe a book about plants and science.
But it is so true, yall.
She combines the ancient wisdom of Native Indigenous people with eco-science and botany in such a uniquely poetic way.
There are plenty of “scientific terms” that were quite lost on me…I admit that my concentration did drift a bit sometimes when she was explaining things like the life cycle of a bean sprout or something…but the way she speaks with such heartfelt connection to all living things always drew me back in.
She has such PASSION for the enviornment.
The more she shared of the Indigenous wisdom of her ancestors, the more I understood where her passion came from.
Ms Kimmerer shared about how her people see all living things—people, animals, plants, water, sky— connected to one another.
All things on Mother Earth are RESPONSIBLE for all things on Mother Earth.
She shared how we can not only gain information and knowledge about the enviornment, humanity and the universe from nature but you can also gain immense wisdom….if we listen, pay attention and respect it.
She shared how she was taught a circle type of universal community—all give, all help, all are grateful.
And as I heard this I thought “Man….how much better off would our world be if we ALL thought this way?”
Because yall….as I listened to her share these things, I found my mindset start to shift. The way I have always envisioned nature really started changing.
In Native culture, “never take more than you need” is the standard.
Not asking what can be TAKEN from Mother Earth but what can be GIVEN is the standard.
“What is good for the land is also good for the people” is believed and practiced.
Wealth among traditional people is measured by having enough to give away NOT by how much one accumulates for themselves.
One of the most beautiful things she shared that has really lingered with me was the concept of The Honorable Harvest, guidelines in how one decides if you will take another life (plant or animal) for your own :
The guidelines for the Honorable Harvest are not written down, or even consistently spoken of as a whole- they are reinforced in small acts of daily life. But if you were to list them, they might look something like this:
Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you may take care of them.
Introduce yourself. Be accountable as the one who comes asking for life.
Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer.
Never take the first. Never take the last.
Take only what you need.
Take only which is given.
Never take more than half. Leave some for others.
Harvest in a way that minimizes harm.
Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have taken.
Share.
Give thanks for what you have been given.
Give a gift, in reciprocity for what you have taken.
Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.”
Can you imagine how very different this country of the United States would look today if the colonizers would have listened to and learned from the people who already called this land home INSTEAD OF silencing and killing them?
Can you imagine how different our society may look if we focused on these principles instead of the greed and consumerism and waste that we focus on now?
Ms Kimmerer shares not only ancient wisdom and scientific knowledge in this collection of essays, but she also shares historical facts as well, discussing topics such as the horrific “Indian boarding schools” and the detrimental effects those had (and continue to have) on Native languages and traditions.
I have truly been processing so many new thoughts in my mind after reading this book.
And with those thoughts, I am having realizations that I really need to change the way I view my relationship to the environment and all of the beings that inhabit it.
I also have realized I want to continue learning more from Indigenous and Native people and cultures…there is so much beauty and knowledge and understanding to gain about this world and our relationship to it and each other…..my Westernized spirit (and our ENTIRE WORLD) desperately needs it more than I ever thought I did.
If you are a plant lover or enjoy science, then you FOR SURE need to get this book.
But if you are reading this review and are thinking just like I did that this book is “not your thing”…let me tell you to just READ IT ANYWAY.
If you’re not a “sciencey” person or a plant loving person, there *may* be a few parts your eyes may glaze over for a bit…BUT when they come back into focus the beauty you will see and the wisdom you will gain will be precious and tremendous.
So…
Thank you to all of you who have been recommending this to me.
I totally get it now.
I’m sorry it took me so long to listen to you, friends….but my ears and heart are now wide open.