Kimmerer criticizes those who gatekeep science from the majority of people through the use of technical language, itself a further form of exclusion through the scientific assumption that humans are disconnected from and above other living things. As for the rest of it, although I love the author's core message--that we need to find a relationship to the land based on reciprocity and gratitude, rather than exploitation--I have to admit, I found the book a bit of a struggle to get through. I close my eyes and listen to all the voices in the rain. That is the significance of Dr. Kimmerers Braiding Sweetgrass.. They are wise enough to be grateful. Out of all the gods experiments, only the corn people respect the world that sustains themand so they were the people who were sustained upon the earth.. If there is one book you would want the President to read this year, what would it be? In. Kimmerer also discusses her own journey to Kanatsiohareke, where she offered her own services at attempting to repopulate the area with native sweetgrass. We need to restore honor to the way we live, so that when we walk through the world we dont have to avert our eyes with shame, so that we can hold our heads up high and receive the respectful acknowledgment of the rest of the earths beings.. For example, Kimmerer calls a spruce tree strong arms covered in moss (p.208) and describes vine maples as a moss-draped dome (296). document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); To live in radical joyous shared servanthood to unify the Earth Family. 2023 . One of my goals this year was to read more non-fiction, a goal I believe I accomplished. What were your thoughts on the structure of the book and the metaphor of sweetgrass life cycle? Is it possible that plants have domesticated us? Book Synopsis. Her book draws not only on the inherited wisdom of Native Americans, but also on the knowledge Western science has accumulated about plants. How do you feel community strength relates to our treatment of the environment? I appreciated Robin Wall Kimmerers perspective on giving back to the land considering how much the land gives to us. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling collection of essays Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Milkweed Editions, 2013. This story is usually read as a history, but Kimmerer reminds the reader that in many Indigenous cultures time is not linear but rather circular. Pull up a seat, friends. In 2013, Braiding Sweetgrass was written by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Kimmerer believes that the connections in the natural world are there for us to listen to if were ready to hear them. Robin Wall Kimmerers book is divided into five sections, titled Planting Sweetgrass, Tending Sweetgrass, Picking Sweetgrass, Braiding Sweetgrass, and Burning Sweetgrass. Each section is titled for a different step in the process of using the plant, sweetgrass, which is one of the four sacred plants esteemed by Kimmerers Potawatomi culture. In the Indigenous worldview, however, humans are seen as the younger brothers of Creation who must learn from those who were here before us: the plants and animals, who have their own kinds of intelligence and knowledge. Her students conducted a study showing that in areas where sweetgrass was harvested wisely (never take more than half) it returned the following year thicker and stronger. Learn how your comment data is processed. Do any specific plants bring you comfort and connection? On his forty acres, where once cedars, hemlocks, and firs held sway in a multilayered sculpture of vertical complexity from the lowest moss on the forest floor to the wisps of lichen hanging high in the treetops, now there were only brambles, vine maples, and alders. People who lived in the old-growth forest belonged to a community of beings that included humans, plants, and animals who were interdependent and equal. Dr. To Be In ReceptiveSilence (InnerCharkha), RestorativeJustice & NonviolentCommunication, Superando la Monocultura Interna y Externa / Overcoming Inner & OuterMonoculture, En la Oscuridad con Asombro/ In Darkness with Wonder. Not what I expected, but all the better for it. From Braiding Sweetgras s by author, ethnobotanist, and biologist Robin Wall Kimmerer, of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation: "Our old farm is within the ancestral homelands of the Onondaga Nation, and their reserve lies a few ridges to the west of my hilltop. It edges up the toe slope to the forest, a wide unseen river that flows beneath the eddies and the splash. In areas where it was ignored, it came back reduced in quantity, thus bearing out the Native American saying: Take care of the land and the land will take care of you.. She isnt going for a walk or gathering kindling or looking for herbs; shes just paying attention. Kimmerer who recently won a MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant used as an example one successful project at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, where she directs the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. Witness to the rain Download PDF Year: 2011 Publications Type: Book Section Publication Number: 4674 Citation: Kimmerer, Robin W. 2011. If you only read one science or nature book this year, this comes with my highest recommendations. know its power in many formswaterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans, snow and ice. Alex Murdaugh's sentence came down Friday, after a jury took less than three hours Thursday to convict him in his family's murders. By the 1850s, Western pioneers saw fit to drain the wetlands that supported the salmon population in order to create more pasture for their cattle. I'm Melanie - the founder and content creator of Inspired Epicurean. Do you relate more to people of corn or wood? I refrain from including specific quotes in case a reader does take a sneak peak before finishing the book, but I do feel your best journey is one taken page-by-page. please join the Buffs OneRead community course: In Witness to the Rain, Kimmerer gives uninterrupted attention to the natural world around her. She compares this healthy relationship to the scientific relationship she experienced as a young scholar, wherein she struggled to reconcile spirituality, biology, and aesthetics into one coherent way of thinking. Recall a meaningful gift that youve received at any point in your life. If there are three dates, the first date is the date of the original Mediums and techniques: linoleum engravings printed in linen on both sides. Its not as big as a maple drop, not big enough to splash, but its popp ripples the surface and sends out concentric rings. Kimmerer closes by describing the Indigenous idea that each part of creation has its own unique gift, like a bird with its song. One essay especially, "Allegiance to Gratitude," prompted me to rethink our Christian practices of thanks. The property she purchases comes with a half acre pond that once was the favorite swimming hole for the community's boys, but which now is choked with plant growth. She asks this question as she tells the stories of Native American displacement, which forever changed the lives of her . Traditional knowledge represents the outcome of long experimentation . a material, scientific inventory of the natural world." It invokes the "ancient order of protocols" which "sets gratitude as the highest priority." It has created powerful tools for ravaging the planets ecosystems, creating a hard path for our descendants. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. Looking back through the book, pick one paragraph or sentence from each of these sections that for you, capture the essence of the statement that Kimmerer includes in the intro of each section. What ceremonies are important to you, and serve as an opportunity to channel attention into intention? Because the relationship between self and the world is reciprocal, it is not a question of first getting enlightened or saved and then acting. This forest is textured with different kinds of time, as the surface of the pool is dimpled with different kinds of rain. Listening, standing witness, creates an openness to the world in which boundaries between us can dissolve in a raindrop." From 'Witness to Rain' [essay], BRAIDING SWEETGRASS: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer, 2015 by Milkweed Editions. How do we characterize wealth and abundance? Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. Read it. Rain on Leaves on a Forest Road in Autumn - 10 Hours Video with Sounds for Relaxation and Sleep Relax Sleep ASMR 282K subscribers 4.6M views 6 years ago Close your eyes and listen to this. Burning Sweetgrass and Epilogue Summary and Analysis, The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child. In the world view that structures her book the relations between human and plant are likewise reciprocal and filled with caring. Next the gods make people out of pure sunlight, who are beautiful and powerful, but they too lack gratitude and think themselves equal to the gods, so the gods destroy them as well. "Witness to the Rain" is the final chapter of the "Braiding Sweetgrass" section of RWK's beautiful book. Next they make humans out of wood. . 1976) is a visual artist and independent curator based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Alder drops make a slow music. This quote from the chapter Witness to the Rain, comes from a meditation during a walk in the rain through the forest. Give them a name based on what you see. Braiding Sweetgrass is a nonfiction work of art by Dr. Robin Kimmerer. Her writing blends her academic botantical scientific learning with that of the North American indigenous way of life, knowledge and wisdom, with a capital W. She brings us fair and square to our modus operandi of live for today . Why or why not? The book the President should read, that all of us who care about the future of the planet should read, is Robin Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass. We are approaching the end of another section inBraiding Sweetgrass. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. She challenges us to deconstruct and reconstruct our perceptions of the natural world, our relationships with our communities, and how both are related to one another. Each print is individually named with a quality that embodies the ways they care for us all. Parts of it are charming and insightful. Does your perception of food change when you consider how food arrived at your table; specifically, a forced removal vs. garden nurturing? Its not about wisdom. eNotes.com, Inc. in the sand, but because joy. Consider the degree of attention you give to the natural world. She is the author of numerous scientific articles, and the book Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses. It perceives the family of life to be little more than a complex biochemical machine. LitCharts Teacher Editions. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two . Its author, an acclaimed plant scientist born and raised in the U.S., has been conditioned by the Western European culture were all heir to, and writes in full awareness that her audience will consist mainly of non-natives. But I'm grateful for this book and I recommend it to every single person! These questions may be posed to an entire class, to small groups, to online communities, or as personal reflective prompts. What aspects did you find difficult to understand? Just read it. We will discuss it more soon on their podcast and in the meantime I'll try to gather my thoughts! Both seek to combine their scientific, technical training with the feeling of connectedness and wholeness they get from being immersed by nature to bring about a more balanced way of living with the land. She writes about the natural world from a place of such abundant passion that one can never quite see the world the same way after having seen it through Kimmerer's eyes. Learn more about what Inspired Epicurean has to offer in theabout mesection. If so, how can we apply what we learn to create a reciprocity with the living world? Abstract. Teachers and parents! They provide us with another model of how . Kimmerer writes about a gift economy and the importance of gratitude and reciprocity. Kinship: Belonging in a World of Relations is a five-volume series exploring our deep interconnections with the living world and the interdependence that exists between humans and nonhuman beings. Kimmerer, Robin Wall Summary "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. Rather, we each bear a responsibility to gain understanding of the land in which we live and how its beauty is much greater than a blooming tree or manicured lawn. (Siangu Lakota, b. Maybe there is no such thing as rain; there are only raindrops, each with its own story.. I want to feel what the cedars feel and know what they know. Afterward they want to create a creature who can speak, and so they try to make humans. As stated before, an important aspect of culture is its creation myths. Dr. I must admit I had my reservations about this book before reading it. In addition to this feature event, Sweet Briar is hosting a series of events that complement . The poetry of nature does not escape this writer and she becomes a poet herself at times, as in the following paragraph from this chapter with which I will conclude. Written from a native American point of view, Braiding Sweetgrass (2013) is one of the most unusual books Ive read. These people are compassionate and loving, and they can dance in gratitude for the rest of creation. The solution? They make the first humans out of mud, but they are ugly and shapeless and soon melt away in the rain. Kimmerer again affirms the importance of the entire experience, which builds a relationship and a sense of humility. White Hawk writes: "As a suite, these works speak to the importance of kinship roles and tribal structures that emphasize the necessity of extended family, tribal and communal ties as meaningful and significant relationships necessary for the rearing of healthy and happy individuals and communities. When you have all the time in the world, you can spend it, not on going somewhere, but on being where you are. It is hyporheic flow that Im listening for. October 6, 2021 / janfalls. What were your thoughts surrounding the Original Instructions?. She is a gifted speaker and teacher. Did you note shapes as metaphor throughout the book? Can we agree that water is important to our lives and bring our minds together as one to send greetings and thanks to the Water? Kimmerer explores the inextricable link between old-growth forests and the old-growth cultures that grew alongside them and highlights how one cannot be restored without the other. She thinks its all about restoration: We need acts of restoration, not only for polluted waters and degraded lands, but also for our relationship to the world. One thing Ive learned in the woods is that there is no such thing as random. When was the last time you experienced a meditative moment listening to the rain? I also loved learning about the plants she mentions, and feel quite relieved to know that the proper pronunciation of pecan is peh-cahn, and not at all related to a way one might relieve themselves in the woods. Looking at mosses close up is, she insists, a comforting, mindful thing: "They're the most overlooked plants on the planet. What did you think of the Pledge of Interdependence? Yet we also have another human gift, language, another of our, Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. What's a summary of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. What is the significance of Braiding Sweetgrass? This chapter centers around an old Indigenous tradition wherein the people greeted the Salmon returning to their streams by burning large swathes of prairie land at Cascade Head. How do you feel about solidity as an illusion? What gifts do you feel you can offer Mother Earth? The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Algae photosynthesizes and thus produces its own nutrients, a form of gathering, while fungi must dissolve other living things in order to harness their acids and enzymes, a form of hunting. This quote from the chapter "Witness to the Rain", comes from a meditation during a walk in the rain through the forest. I close my eyes and listen to the voices of the rain. How does one go about exploring their own relationship with nature? Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Kimmerer describes how the lichen unites the two main sources of nourishment: gathering and hunting. The Earth is providing many valuable gifts for us, including fresh air, water, lands and many more natural resources to keep us alive. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs How can we create our own stories (or lenses) to view sacred relationships? In fact, these "Braiding Sweetgrass" book club questions are intended to help in the idea generation for solutions to problems highlighted in the book, in addition to an analysis of our own relationship with our community and the Earth. This list is simply a starting point, an acknowledgement and gesture of gratitude for the many women in my life that have helped Create, Nurture, Protect, and Lead in ways that have taught me what it means to be a good relative. Give your attention to the plants and natural elements around you. When we take from the land, she wants us to insist on an honourable harvest, whether were taking a single vegetable for sustenance or extracting minerals from the land. Despairing towards the end of the trip that she had focused too much on scientific graphing of vegetation and too little on the spiritual importance of land, Kimmerer recalls being humbled as the students began to sing Amazing Grace. Each raindrop will fall individually, its size and. How does Kimmerer use plants to illustrate her ideas in Braiding Sweetgrass? The author reflects on how modern botany can be explained through these cultures. How can we have a relationship if we lack thorough understanding, an ability to listen, and ideas to give back to the natural world? Adapting Fearlessness, Nonviolence, Anarchy and Humility in the 21st century. What are your first thoughts when you hear the word environmentalism?. When people are in the presence of nature, often no other lesson is needed to move them to awe. The questionssampled here focus onreader experience and connection. Dr. Kimmerer weaves together one of the most rich resources to date in Braiding Sweetgrass, and leaves us with a sense of hope rather than paralyzing fear. If time is measured by the period between events, alder drip time is different from maple drip. The ultimate significance of Braiding Sweetgrass is one of introspection; how do we reciprocate the significant gifts from the Earth in a cyclical fashion that promotes sustainability, community, and a sense of belonging? How much do we love the environment that gives of itself despite our misuse of its resources? How will they change on their journey? Dr. Kimmerer has taught courses in botany, ecology, ethnobotany, indigenous environmental issues as well as a seminar in application of traditional ecological knowledge to conservation.