I don't know what else to say. I think it has affected me more than anything else I've ever read. Robin Wall Kimmerer You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. know its power in many formswaterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans, snow and ice. These writing or creative expression promptsmight be used for formal assignments or informal exercises. I share delicious vegan recipes (with a few flexitarian recipes from my pre-vegan days). The drop swells on the tip of the of a cedar and I catch in on my tongue like a blessing. Enjoy! Maples do their fair share for us; how well do we do by them? 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. These people have no gratitude or love within them, however, and they disrespect the rest of creation. Where will the raindrops land? In In the Footsteps of Nanabozho: Becoming Indigenous to Place, Kimmerer compares Nanabozhos journey to the arrival of immigrant plants carried from the Old World and rehabilitated in American soil. Did you note shapes as metaphor throughout the book? Five stars for the beauty of some of Robin Wall Kimmerer's writing in many essays/chapters. How many of you have ever grown anything from seed? How did the explanation of circular time affect your perception of stories, history, and the concept of time in which you are most familiar? Do any specific plants bring you comfort and connection? Kimmerer says, "Let us put our . Kimmerer also brings up how untouched land is now polluted and forgotten, how endangered species need to be protected, how we can take part in caring for nature, especially during the climate crisis that we are currently experiencing and have caused due to our carelessness and lack of concern for other species. Kimmerer occupies two radically different thought worlds. What literary devices are used in Braiding Sweetgrass? Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. Braiding Sweetgrass: Fall, 2021 & Spring, 2022 - New York University I close my eyes and listen to all the voices in the rain. In 2013, Braiding Sweetgrass was written by Robin Wall Kimmerer. That is the significance of Dr. Kimmerers Braiding Sweetgrass.. This quote from the chapter "Witness to the Rain", comes from a meditation during a walk in the rain through the forest. Do you consider them inanimate objects? Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the As a social scientist myself, I found her nuanced ideas about the relationship between western science and indigenous worldviews compelling. What did you think of the concept of the journey of plants relating to the journey of people? I can see my face reflected in a dangling drop. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us. If you only read one science or nature book this year, this comes with my highest recommendations. Last Updated on March 23, 2021, by eNotes Editorial. Kimmerer imagines a kind of science in which people saw plants as teachers rather than as objects to be experimented on. 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. 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. When Kimmerer moves herself and her daughters to upstate New York, one of the responsibilities that she decides to take is to provide her daughters with a swimmable pond. She sees these responsibilities as extending past the saying of thanks for the earths bounty and into conservation efforts to preserve that which humanity values. However alluring the thought of warmth, there is no substitute for standing in the rain to waken every sensesenses that are muted within four walls, where my attention would be on me, instead of all that is more than me. Finally, the gods make people out of ground corn meal. Kimmerer's words to your own sense of place and purpose at Hotchkiss. One such attempt at reclaiming Indigenous culture is being made by Sakokwenionkwas, or Tom Porter, a member of the Bear Clan. What are your thoughts on the assertion of mutual taming between plants and humans? How often do we consider the language, or perceptions, of those with whom we are trying to communicate? She lives in Syracuse, New York, where she is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental . How do we characterize wealth and abundance? The leaching of ecological resources is not just an action to be compartmentalized, or written off as a study for a different time, group of scientists, or the like. Otherwise, consider asking these ten questions in conjunction with the chapter-specific questions for a deeper discussion. help you understand the book. Robin Wall Kimmerer: 'Mosses are a model of how we might live' Kimmerer believes that the connections in the natural world are there for us to listen to if were ready to hear them. Kimmerer's claim with second and even third thoughts about the contradic-tions inherent in notions of obligation that emerge in the receiving of gifts. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling collection of essays Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights. Robin Kimmerers relation to nature delighted and amazed me, and at the same time plunged me into envy and near despair. (LogOut/ Kimmerer hopes that with the return of salmon to Cascade Head, some of the sacred ceremonies of gratitude and reciprocity that once greeted them might return as well. It also means that her books organizational principles are not ones were accustomed to, so instead of trying to discern them in an attempt to outline the book, I will tell you about the two chapters that left the deepest impression. It left me at a loss for words. 'Braiding Sweetgrass' author: 'We haven't loved the land enough' Pull up a seat, friends. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Witness (1985) - IMDb What would you gather along the path towards the future? [], If there is meaning in the past and the imagined future, it is captured in the moment. In this chapter, Kimmerer recounts the journey of Nanabozho as he walks across the earth for the first time. So I stretch out, close my eyes, and listen to the rain. In the world view that structures her book the relations between human and plant are likewise reciprocal and filled with caring. Dr. Maybe there is no such thing as time; there are only moments, each with its own story. Does your perception of food change when you consider how food arrived at your table; specifically, a forced removal vs. garden nurturing? Hundreds of thousands of readers have turned to Kimmerer's words over the decades since the book's first publication, finding these tender, poetic, and respectful words, rooted in soil and tradition, intended to teach and celebrate. Braiding Sweetgrass Book Summary, by Robin Wall Kimmerer We are discussing it here: Audiobook..narrated by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Powerful book with lots of indigenous wisdom related to science, gratitude, and how we relate to the land. Planting Sweetgrass includes the chapters Skywoman Falling, The Council of Pecans, The Gift of Strawberries, An Offering, Asters and Goldenrod, and Learning the Grammar of Animacy. Kimmerer introduces the concepts of reciprocity, gratitude, and gift-giving as elements of a healthy relationship with ones environment which she witnessed from her indigenous family and culture growing up. Alex Murdaugh's sentence came down Friday, after a jury took less than three hours Thursday to convict him in his family's murders. 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.. The solution? How has this book changed your view of the natural world and relationships? Book Arts Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer - Penguin Which were the most and least effective chapters, in your opinion? Privacy | Do not sell my personal information | Cookie preferences | Report noncompliance | Terms of use| 2022 Autodesk Inc. All rights reserved, Braiding Sweetgrass, Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants. ", University of Colorado Boulder Libraries, Buffs One Read 2022-2023: Braiding Sweetgrass, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdome Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants. In this chapter, Kimmerer recounts a field trip she took with a group of students while she was teaching in the Bible Belt. This Study Guide consists of approximately 46pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - What did you think of the Pledge of Interdependence? 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's completely comfortable moving between the two and their co-existence within her mind gives her a unique understanding of her experience. As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. It also greatly touches upon how humans and nature impact one another and how we should appreciate the journey that food and nature have taken to get to our tables and backyards. She is represented by. Each raindrop will fall individually, its size and. And we think of it as simply rain, as if it were one thing, as if we understood it. Did the Depression-era reference hit home with you? It takes time for fine rain to traverse the scabrous rough surface of an alder leaf. Note what the gods valued most in the people of corn: their ability to be grateful and to live in community with each other and the earth itself. The book is simultaneously meditative about the. Artist Tony Drehfal is a wood engraver, printmaker, and photographer. At Kanatsiohareke, he and others have carved out a place where Indigenous people can gather to relearn and celebrate Haudenosaunee culture. But Kimmerer's intention is not to hone a concept of obligation via theoretical discussions from a distance but rather to witness its inauguration close up and Just read it. The author spends several hours in the rain one day. This idea has been mentioned several times before, but here Kimmerer directly challenges her fellow scientists to consider it as something other than a story: to actually allow it to inform their worldviews and work, and to rethink how limited human-only science really is. Do offering ceremonies or rituals exist in your life? Its about pursuing the wants and needs of humans, with less concern for the more-than-human world. -Graham S. Immigrant culture should appreciate this wisdom, but not appropriate it, Kimmerer says. It was heartbreaking to realize my nearly total disconnection from the earth, and painful to see the world again, slowly and in pieces. 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.. Burning Sweetgrass is the final section of this book. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. Read the Epilogue of Braiding Sweetgrass, Returning the Gift. Yes, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Dr. Robin Kimmerer arrived on the New York Times Paperback Best Sellers list on January 31, 2020, six years after its publication. After reading the book do you feel compelled to take any action or a desire to impact any change? Written from a native American point of view, Braiding Sweetgrass (2013) is one of the most unusual books Ive read. 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 . Get help and learn more about the design. If so, how can we apply what we learn to create a reciprocity with the living world? "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. Copyright 2022 Cook'd Pro on the Cook'd Pro Theme, Banana Tahini Cookies (Vegan, Gluten Free), Blackberry Strawberry Banana Smoothie (Vegan, Gluten Free). If so, which terms or phrases? What can you do to promote restoration over despair? Braiding Sweetgrass. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. How can we create our own stories (or lenses) to view sacred relationships? What did you think of the perspective regarding the ceremony of life events; in which those who have been provided with the reason for the celebration give gifts to those in attendance. Skywoman Falling - NYU Reads - New York University Vlog where I reflected daily on one or two chapters: Pros: This non-fiction discusses serious issues regarding the ecology that need to be addressed. [Illustration offered as an anonymous gift :-)]. She wonders what our gift might be, and thinks back on the people of mud, wood, and light. Through this symbiotic relationship, the lichen is able to survive in harsh conditions. Your email address will not be published. Milkweed Editions, 2013. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. In: Fleischner, Thomas L., ed. Tragically, the Native people who upheld this sacred tradition were decimated by diseases such as smallpox and measles in the 1830s.