Braiding Sweetgrass

A love hymn to the world, a journey that is as mythical as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise. As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer is trained to ask nature questions using the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the idea that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In "Braiding Sweetgrass," Kimmerer brings together these two forms of knowledge. She illustrates how other beings – asters and goldenrods, strawberries and pumpkins, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass – offer us gifts and lessons, even when we have forgotten how to hear their voices. In a rich tapestry of reflections that span from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces threatening its flourishing today, she approaches a central argument: that awakening a broader ecological consciousness requires the recognition 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 able to understand the generosity of the Earth and learn to give our own gifts in return.