Displaying 1 of 1 2013 Format: Book Author: Kimmerer, Robin Wall. 1953- Title: Braiding sweetgrass : indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants / Robin Wall Kimmerer. Publisher, Date: Minneapolis, Minnesota : Milkweed Editions, 2013. Description: x, 390 pages ; 23 cm. Subjects: Kimmerer, Robin Wall, 1953- Indian philosophy. Indigenous peoples -- Ecology. Philosophy of nature. Human ecology -- Philosophy. Nature -- Effect of human beings on. Human-plant relationships. Botany. Potawatomi Indians -- Biography. Notes: Includes bibliographical references. Place Hold Add to My List Expand All | Collapse All Availability Large Cover Image Trade Reviews CHOICE ReviewAs she did with her John Burroughs Medal-winning Gathering Moss (CH, Nov'03, 41-1549), Kimmerer (SUNY-ESF) brings to this volume her expertise as a botanist, insights developed as mother and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, and beautiful writing. As the title suggests, she braids together diverse threads of experience and knowledge to create a unified vision of humans interacting with other "people"--animals, insects, plants--in "regenerative reciprocity." Kimmerer's environmentalism is grounded in science, including a graduate study confirming traditional knowledge that carefully harvesting sweet grass for basketmaking helps the plants grow. Most of the book's anecdotes and observations are centered in the countryside near Syracuse where the author lives. She explains eutrophication, through which a pond becomes a marsh becomes a meadow becomes a forest, and her efforts to reverse the process to provide a swimming pond for her daughters. She describes late-night excursions to carry salamanders across a dangerous road, pondering questions about long- and short-term aid. Braiding in stories from the Onandaga people and close studies of human and plant communities, Kimmerer skillfully demonstrates the urgency for and the benefits of ecological restoration. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels. C. A. Bily Macomb Community College Summary A New York Times Bestseller A Washington Post Bestseller Named a "Best Essay Collection of the Decade" by Literary Hub 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. Table of Contents Prefacep. ixPlanting SweetgrassSkywoman Fallingp. 3The Council of Pecansp. 11The Gift of Strawberriesp. 22An Offeringp. 33Asters and Goldenrodp. 39Learning the Grammar of Animacyp. 48Tending SweetgrassMaple Sugar Moonp. 63Witch Hazelp. 72A Mother s Workp. 82The Consolation of Water Liliesp. 98Allegiance to Gratitudep. 105Picking SweetgrassEpiphany in the Beansp. 121The Three Sistersp. 128Wisgaak, Gokpenagen: A Black Ash Basketp. 141Mishkos Kenomagwen: The Teachings of Grassp. 156Maple Nation: A Citizenship Guidep. 167The Honorable Harvestp. 175Braiding SweetgrassIn the Footsteps of Nanabozho: Becoming Indigenous to Placep. 205The Sound of Silverbellsp. 216Sitting in a Circlep. 223Burning Cascade Headp. 241Putting Down Rootsp. 254Umbilicaria: The Belly Button of the Worldp. 268Old-Growth Childrenp. 277Witness to the Rainp. 293Burning SweetgrassWindigo Footprintsp. 303The Sacred and the Super fundp. 310People of Corn, People of Lightp. 341Collateral Damagep. 348Shkitagen: People of the Seventh Firep. 360Defeating Windigop. 374Epilogue: Returning the Giftp. 380Notesp. 385Sourcesp. 387Acknowledgmentsp. 389 Displaying 1 of 1
