Braiding Sweetgrass

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an amazing book. It’s title and subtitle describe it well. It is so well written that it easily earns my five-star rating. The Pulitzer Prize winning Overstory introduced me to scientific findings that establish the abilities of trees to communicate with each other, and this book takes that a step further.
This book teaches us much about the world view of indigenous cultures in North America and how the earth and its plants are equal citizens along with us in the world. Fundamental to this world view is being grateful to the earth and its plants and animals for the food, shelter and medicine that we need to survive. Another fundamental concept it that the key to long-term survival is to take what the earth readily offers us rather than greedily exploiting it for financial gain that mostly benefits a few and is destructive to both the earth and its citizens.
The book is arranged in sections that develop concepts systematically, and each chapter is a gem of an essay that is both beautiful and profound. The author often roots her essays in a personal experience: “I can see my face reflected in a dangling drop. The fish-eye lens gives me a giant forehead and tiny ears. I suppose that’s the way humans are, thinking too much and listening too little. Paying attention acknowledges that we have something to learn from intelligences other than our own. Listening, standing witness, creates an openness to the world in which boundaries between us can dissolve in a raindrop. The drop swells on the tip of a cedar and I catch it on my tongue like a blessing.” P.290
Many of the book’s teachings step from indigenous language. The author observes, “When a language dies, so much more than words are lost. Language is a dwelling place for ideas that do not exist anywhere else.” P251
Other essays are rooted in the her culture’s mythology: “His gratitude for their abilities grew and he came to understand that to carry a gift is also to carry a responsibility. The Creator gave Wood Thrush the gift of a beautiful song, with the duty to sing the forest a good-night. Late at night he was grateful that the stars were sparkling to guide his way. Breathing under water, flying to the ends of the earth and back, digging earthen gardens, making medicines. He [Nanabozho] considered his own empty hands. He had only to rely on the world to take care of him.” P. 204
Most of the chapters can be read in 20 -30 minute sessions making this book is a perfect fit for those who like to start or end their day with a great read.

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