What were your thoughts surrounding the Original Instructions?. 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. Braids plated of three strands, are given away as signs of kindness and gratitude. Artist Tony Drehfal is a wood engraver, printmaker, and photographer. Dr. Kimmerer invites us to view our surroundings through a new lens; perhaps a lens we should have been using all along. She highlights that at the beginning of his journey, Nanabozho was an immigrant, arriving at an earth already fully populated with plants and animals, but by the end of his journey, Nanabozho has found a sense of belonging on Turtle Island. The old forest, a result of thousands of years of ecological fine-tuning, and home to an incredible variety of life forms, does not grow back by itself; it has to be planted. Just read it. In Braiding. 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. Log in here. Kimmerer combines the indigenous wisdom shes learned over the years with her scientific training to find a balance between systems-based thinking and more thorny points of ethics that need to be considered if we want to meet the needs of every individual in a community. Why or why not? Does your perception of food change when you consider how food arrived at your table; specifically, a forced removal vs. garden nurturing? Witness to the Rain Robin Wall Kimmerer | Last.fm Search Live Music Charts Log In Sign Up Robin Wall Kimmerer Witness to the Rain Love this track More actions Listeners 9 Scrobbles 11 Join others and track this song Scrobble, find and rediscover music with a Last.fm account Sign Up to Last.fm Lyrics Add lyrics on Musixmatch If your book club is about to read "Braiding Sweetgrass" and has limited time for discussion, consider sticking with these ten general questions that are intended to instigate conversation about the book as a whole. The second is the date of But her native heritage, and the teachings she has received as a conscious student of that heritage, have given her a perspective so far removed from the one the rest of us share that it transforms her experience, and her perception, of the natural world. The way of natural history. Robin Wall Kimmerer . Witness to the rain - LTER She isnt going for a walk or gathering kindling or looking for herbs; shes just paying attention. . Can you identify any ceremonies in which you participated, that were about the land, rather than family and culture? We will discuss it more soon on their podcast and in the meantime I'll try to gather my thoughts! Robin Wall Kimmerer Do you feel we have created an imbalance with our symbiotic relationship with Earth? From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Finally, the gods make people out of ground corn meal. I appreciated Robin Wall Kimmerers perspective on giving back to the land considering how much the land gives to us. Robin Kimmerer, Potawatomi Indigenous ecologist, author, and professor, asks this question as she ponders the fleeting existence of our sister speciesspecies such as the passenger pigeon, who became extinct a century ago. In addition to this feature event, Sweet Briar is hosting a series of events that complement . What are your thoughts regarding the concepts of: The destruction resulting from convenience, Do you agree with the idea that killing a who evokes a different response from humans than killing an it?. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. 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. The author reflects on how modern botany can be explained through these cultures. These questions may be posed to an entire class, to small groups, to online communities, or as personal reflective prompts. OK, this book was a journey and not a precisely pleasant one. 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. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Picking Sweetgrass includes the chapters Epiphany in the Beans, The Three Sisters, Wisgaak Gokpenagen: A Black Ash Basket, Mishkos Kenomagwen: The Teachings of Grass, Maple Nation: A Citizenship Guide, and The Honorable Harvest. This section dwells on the responsibilities attendant on human beings in relation to the earth, after Kimmerer already establishes that the earth does give gifts to humanity and that gifts are deserving of reciprocal giving. Kimmerer begins by affirming the importance of stories: stories are among our most potent tools for restoring the land as well as our relationship to land. Because we are both storytellers and storymakers, paying attention to old stories and myths can help us write the narrative of a better future. This list is simply a starting point, an acknowledgement and gesture of gratitude for the many women in my life that have helped Create, Nurture, Protect, and Lead in ways that have taught me what it means to be a good relative. Kimmerer imagines a kind of science in which people saw plants as teachers rather than as objects to be experimented on. San Antonio, TX: Trinity University Press: 187-195. When you have all the time in the world, you can spend it, not on going somewhere, but on being where you are. Can anyone relate to the fleeting African violet? Dr. Do you relate more to people of corn or wood? publication online or last modification online. That's why Robin Wall Kimmerer, a scientist, author and Citizen Potawatomi Nation member, says it's necessary to complement Western scientific knowledge with traditional Indigenous wisdom. We are grateful that the waters are still here and meeting their responsibility to the rest of Creation. Skywoman Falling - Emergence Magazine These qualities also benefited them, as they were the only people to survive and endure. Fir needles fall with the high-frequency hiss of rain, branches fall with the bloink of big drops, and trees with a rare but thunderous thud. I close my eyes and listen to all the voices in the rain. How did this change or reinforce your understanding of gifts and gift-giving? Alex Murdaugh's sentence came down Friday, after a jury took less than three hours Thursday to convict him in his family's murders. If you embrace the natural world as a whole from microscopic organisms to fully-fledged mammals, where do you draw the line with sacrificing life for your greater good?. "I close my eyes and listen to the voices of the rain. What literary devices are used in Braiding Sweetgrass? If so, which terms or phrases? In this chapter, Kimmerer discusses the legacy of Indian boarding schools, such as Carlisle, and some of the measures that are being taken to reverse the damage caused by forcible colonial assimilation. Did you note shapes as metaphor throughout the book? Was there a passage that struck you and stayed with you after you finished reading? We are approaching the end of another section inBraiding Sweetgrass. . In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two . Its not about wisdom. Specifically, this chapter highlights how it is more important to focus on growing a brighter future for the following generations rather than seeking revenge for the wrongs suffered by previous generations. 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. 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. What are your thoughts regarding the democracy of species concept? I read this book in a book club, and one of the others brought some braided Sweetgrass to our meeting. I would have liked to read just about Sweetgrass and the customs surrounding it, to read just about her journey as a Native American scientist and professor, or to read just about her experiences as a mother. What aspects did you find difficult to understand? Kimmerer who recently won a MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant used as an example one successful project at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, where she directs the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. Looking back through the book, pick one paragraph or sentence from each of these sections that for you, capture the essence of the statement that Kimmerer includes in the intro of each section. Returning The Gift Kimmerer Analysis | ipl.org 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. Kimmerer Braided Sweetgrass quiz #6 Environmental Ethics Did you find the outline structure of the chapter effective? 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.. I can see my face reflected in a dangling drop. Learn more about what Inspired Epicurean has to offer in theabout mesection. Burning Sweetgrass Windigo Footprints The Sacred and the Superfund Collateral Damage . What do you consider the power of ceremony? Recall a meaningful gift that youve received at any point in your life. We've designed some prompts to help students, faculty, and all of the CU community to engage with the 2021 Buffs OneRead. I wish that I could stand like a shaggy cedar with rain seeping into my bark, that water could dissolve the barrier between us. So I stretch out, close my eyes, and listen to the rain. Last Updated on March 23, 2021, by eNotes Editorial. Follow us onLinkedIn,Twitter, orInstagram. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer . By paying attention we acknowledge that we have something to learn from intelligences other than our own. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants.She has BS in Botany from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry as well as a MS and PhD from the University of Wisconsin. This nonfiction the power of language, especially learning the language of your ancestors to connect you to your culture as well as the heartbreaking fact that indigenous children who were banned from speaking anything from English in academic settings. My mother is a veteran. Afterward they want to create a creature who can speak, and so they try to make humans. 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. Maples do their fair share for us; how well do we do by them? On the other hand, Skywoman falls to Earth by accident, and lives in harmony with the animals she meets there. When a young Amish boy is sole witness to a murder while visiting Philadelphia with his mother, police detective John Book tries to protect the boy until an attempt on Book's life forces him into hiding in Amish country. In: Fleischner, Thomas L., ed. nature, rain, pandemic times, moments of life, garden, and light. How many of you have ever grown anything from seed? What ceremonies are important to you, and serve as an opportunity to channel attention into intention? What about the book resonated the most with you? Braiding Sweetgrass. Did you recognize yourself or your experiences in it? I suppose thats the way we are as humans, thinking too much and listening too little. Did you find this chapter poetic? Did you consider this a melancholy chapter? I had no idea how much I needed this book until I read it. Many of her arguments rely on this concept of honour, which is what she thinks weve abandoned in our publicpolicies. Braiding sweetgrass : indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants / Robin Wall Kimmerer. As immigrants, are we capable of loving the land as if we were indigenous to it? These are not 'instructions' like commandments, though, or rules; rather they are like a compass: they provide an orientation but not a map. Required fields are marked *. I think that moss knows rain better than we do, and so do maples. Then she listens. (LogOut/ If there is meaning in the past and in the imagined future, it is captured in the moment. Clearly I am in the minority here, as this book has some crazy high ratings overall. Braiding Sweetgrass is a nonfiction work of art by Dr. Robin Kimmerer. October 6, 2021 / janfalls. What did you think of Robins use of movement as metaphor and time? One essay especially, "Allegiance to Gratitude," prompted me to rethink our Christian practices of thanks. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Why or why not? Returning the Gift | Center for Humans and Nature The Onondaga Thanksgiving Address - Myth & Moor Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. From his land, Dolp can see the remains of an old-growth forest on top of a nearby peak, the rest of the view being square patches of Douglas fir the paper companies had planted alternating with clear cut fields. Her book draws not only on the inherited wisdom of Native Americans, but also on the knowledge Western science has accumulated about plants. Director Peter Weir Writers William Kelley (story by) Pamela Wallace (story by) Earl W. Wallace (story by) Stars Harrison Ford Change). Hotchkiss All-School Read 2021 1 NOTA BENE: Kimmerer weaves together three major approaches to nature writing in this text: . Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Inside looking out, I could not bear the loneliness of being dry in a wet world. Her work is in the collections of the Denver Art Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Tweed Museum of Art, IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Akta Lakota Museum among other public and private collections. I read this book almost like a book of poetry, and it was a delightful one to sip and savor. What fire within you has proven to be both good and bad? everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Braiding Sweetgrass. (LogOut/ In that environment, says Kimmerer, there was no such thing as alone. . For example, Kimmerer calls a spruce tree strong arms covered in moss (p.208) and describes vine maples as a moss-draped dome (296). Parts of it are charming and insightful. Its about pursuing the wants and needs of humans, with less concern for the more-than-human world. The ultimate significance of Braiding Sweetgrass is one of introspection; how do we reciprocate the significant gifts from the Earth in a cyclical fashion that promotes sustainability, community, and a sense of belonging? Learn how your comment data is processed. A fairly gentle, love-based look at ecology and the climate crisis with lots of educational value. How do we compensate the plants for what weve received? I must admit I had my reservations about this book before reading it. As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. Listening, standing witness, creates an openness to the world in which boundaries between us can dissolve in a raindrop." From 'Witness to Rain' [essay], BRAIDING SWEETGRASS: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer, 2015 by Milkweed Editions. "Braiding Sweetgrass" Chapter 25: Witness to the Rainwritten by Robin Wall KimmererRead by Sen Naomi Kirst-SchultzOriginal text can be bought at:https://birc. She is Potawatomi and combines her heritage with her scientific and environmental passions. How can species share gifts and achieve mutualism? And, how can we embrace a hopeful, tangible approach to healing the natural world before its too late? The Earth is providing many valuable gifts for us, including fresh air, water, lands and many more natural resources to keep us alive. Tending Sweetgrass includes the chapters Maple Sugar Moon, Witch Hazel, A Mothers Work, The Consolation of Water Lilies, and Allegiance to Gratitude. This section more closely explores the bounty of the earth and what it gives to human beings. Through storytelling and metaphor, Braiding Sweetgrass is a nonfiction work that reads as a love letter to the natural world. Five stars for introducing me to Sweetgrass, its many Native American traditions, and her message of caring for and showing gratitude for the Earth. Were you familiar with Carlisle, Pennsylvania prior to this chapter? Its not as big as a maple drop, not big enough to splash, but its popp ripples the surface and sends out concentric rings. Book Arts Consider the degree of attention you give to the natural world. Braiding Sweetgrass explores the theme of cooperation, considering ways in which different entities can thrive by working in harmony and thereby forming a sense of mutual belonging. Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address Greetings to the Natural World Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the 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. Braiding Sweetgrass - Google Books "Braiding Sweetgrass - Braiding Sweetgrass Summary and Analysis" eNotes Publishing And we think of it as simply rain, as if it were one thing, as if we understood it. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. She puts itwonderfully in this talk: Its not the land which is broken, but our relationship to the land.. If there are three dates, the first date is the date of the original These people are compassionate and loving, and they can dance in gratitude for the rest of creation. These Braiding Sweetgrass book club questions are intended to be used as discussion points post-reading, and not a guide during the reading itself. Kimmerer muses on this story, wondering why the people of corn were the ones who ultimately inherited the earth. As water professionals, can we look closely enough at the raindrops to learn from them and respect the careful balance of these interactions when we design and build the infrastructure we rely on? What are your thoughts concerning indigenous agriculture in contrast to Western agriculture? 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.
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