Braiding Sweetgrass Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to She is the co-founder and past president of the Traditional Ecological Knowledge section of the Ecological Society of America. Witness to the Rain 293-300 BURNING SWEETGRASS Windigo Footprints 303-309 . Want more Water Words of Wisdom? I wish that I could stand like a shaggy cedar with rain seeping into my bark, that water could dissolve the barrier between us. What gifts do you feel you can offer Mother Earth? From time to time, we like to collect our favourite quotes, sayings, and statistics about water and share them with readers. She is wrong. Her book reachedanother impressive milestone last weekwhen Kimmerer received a MacArthur genius grant. Sshhhhh from rain, pitpitpit from hemlock, bloink from maple and lastly popp of falling alder water. (USA), 2013. This was a wonderful, wonderful book. What is the significance of Braiding Sweetgrass? Does anything in your life feel like an almost insurmountable task, similar to the scraping of the pond? Why or why not? The drop swells on the tip of the of a cedar and I catch in on my tongue like a blessing. The Andrews Forest Programprovides science on multiple themes and provides a broader foundation for regional studies. The solution? It is a book that explores the connection between living things and human efforts to cultivate a more sustainable world through the lens of indigenous traditions. Did you find this chapter poetic? Kimmerer traces this theme by looking at forest restoration, biological models of symbiosis, the story of Nanabozho, her experiences of teaching ethnobotany, and other topics. Change). Quote by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It is hyporheic flow that Im listening for. Was there a passage that struck you and stayed with you after you finished reading? 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. Wall Kimmerer draws on her own life experiences and her half North American Indian and half white settler ancestry. She speaks about each drops path as completely different, interacting with a multitude of organic and inorganic matter along the way, sometimes becoming bigger or smaller, sometimes picking up detritus along the way or losing some of its fullness. "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. Kimmerer is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. As the field trip progresses and the students come to understand more fully their relationship with the earth, Kimmerer explains how the current climate crisis, specifically the destruction of wetland habitation, becomes not just an abstract problem to be solved on an intellectual level but an extremely personal mission. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. 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. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants and Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses.She lives in Syracuse, New York, where she is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental . Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. . What did you think of the Pledge of Interdependence? Do you consider them inanimate objects? 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. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance Her book draws not only on the inherited wisdom of Native Americans, but also on the knowledge Western science has accumulated about plants. I really enjoyed this. In the Bible Eve is punished for eating forbidden fruit and God curses her to live as Adam's subordinate according to an article on The Collector. 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. Does your perception of food change when you consider how food arrived at your table; specifically, a forced removal vs. garden nurturing? If so, how? The gods send disasters to strike them, and they also give the rest of creation their own voices to speak out against their mistreatment. The author reflects on how modern botany can be explained through these cultures. Take some time to walk about campus or some other natural space. In the following chapter, Umbilicaria: The Belly Button of the World, Kimmerer sees the fungialgae relationship as a model for human survival as a species. The other chapter that captured me is titled Witness to the Rain. Rather than being historical, it is descriptive and meditative. In 2013, Braiding Sweetgrass was written by Robin Wall Kimmerer. And we think of it as simply time, as if it were one thing, as if we understood it. Alder drops make a slow music. The address, she writes, is "a river of words as old as the people themselves, known more . "Robin Wall Kimmerer is writer of rare grace. The actual practice of science often means doing this, but the more general scientific worldview of Western society ignores everything that happens in these experiences, aside from the data being collected. This book has taught me so much, hopefully changed me for the better forever. I read this book almost like a book of poetry, and it was a delightful one to sip and savor. Next they make humans out of wood. Log in here. I would read a couple of essays, find my mind wandering, and then put the book down for a couple of weeks. Braiding Sweetgrass addresses a tapestry of relationships that represent a larger, more significant relationship between humans and the environment we call home. Dr. Kimmerer does a fantastic job of shining a spotlight on the intersectionality of traditionally divergent spheres; most specifically, Western scientific methods and Indigenous teachings. As a botanist and indigenous person you'd think this would be right up my alley, but there was something about the description that made it sound it was going to be a lot of new-age spiritual non-sense, and it was a bit of that, but mostly I was pleasantly surprised that it was a more "serious" book than I thought it'd be. The last date is today's Kimmerer describes the entire lifecycle of this intriguing creature to emphasize how tragic it is when their lives are ended so abruptly and randomly by passing cars. Witness to the rain Published December 15, 2017 Title Witness to the rain Authors: Kimmerer, Robin W. Secondary Authors: Fleischner, Thomas L. Publication Type Book Section Year of Publication: 2011 Publisher Name: Trinity University Press Publisher City: San Antonio, TX Accession Number: AND4674 URL "Burning Sweetgrass" is the final section of this book. 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. Word Count: 1124. When people are in the presence of nature, often no other lesson is needed to move them to awe. Listening to rain, time disappears. Do you feel a deeper connection to your local plants now? Kimmerer often muses on how we can live in reciprocity with the land, and gratitude, as our uniquely human gift, is always an important part of this. And we think of it as simply rain, as if it were one thing, as if we understood it. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two . Will the language you use when referencing plants change? Written from a native American point of view, Braiding Sweetgrass (2013) is one of the most unusual books Ive read. 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 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. 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. Through storytelling and metaphor, Braiding Sweetgrass is a nonfiction work that reads as a love letter to the natural world. Its not as big as a maple drop, not big enough to splash, but its popp ripples the surface and sends out concentric rings. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. What have you worked hard for, like tapping maples? date the date you are citing the material. The reflecting surface of the pool is textured with their signatures, each one different in pace and resonance. The source of all that they needed, from cradleboards to coffins, it provided them with materials for boats and houses, for clothing and baskets, for bowls and hats, utensils and fishing rods, line and ropes. How much do we love the environment that gives of itself despite our misuse of its resources? One of my goals this year was to read more non-fiction, a goal I believe I accomplished. LitCharts Teacher Editions. The story focuses on the central role of the cattail plant, which can fulfill a variety of human needs, as the students discover. Parts of it are charming and insightful. Throughout five sections that mirror the important lifecycle of sweetgrass, Dr. Kimmerer unfolds layers of Indigenous wisdom that not only captures the attention of the reader, but also challenges the perspectives of Western thought in a beautiful and passionate way.