Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
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.
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Community Reviews
I first read this book as an audiobook, read by the author. I was so entranced and had so many "stop, I want to hear that again" moments that I bought the audio book. Kimmerer has helped me re-see the plants and trees on my daily walks and think more deeply about what my brother and I might do with the land we will one day inherit
Excellent book. Gave me a new way of looking at the world. I love how she stresses reciprocity, humility, gratitude, and responsibility.
The frightening image of the Windigo is a haunting metaphor for our consumer society. Also memorable is her discussion of the buffalo as an example of a cycle of giving and receiving.
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