Braiding Sweetgrass
by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
A perfect combination of worship and science. Robin Wall Kimmerer brings her readers into the deep and vital questions of what it would look like if humans took care of the earth as much as Mother Earth takes care of us. Before going into this text, I knew nothing of indigenous cultures. I came across this book through social media. It seemed that Braiding Sweetgrass embraced everyone’s mind in the most warm and welcoming hug. Some of my biggest influences were quoting this novel, bringing to light how important this book is, and emphasizing how everyone should read it. I passed it several times in the bookstore before finally deciding to surrender to what Elizabeth Gilbert calls “the hymn of love to the world.” It seems surreal how a book can find you at just the right moment. After already having several talks with close friends about indigenous culture, finding myself confused and trapped in a box of misunderstanding, Kimmerer revealed what it is like to look through the skylight. My image of the Earth, how to provide and appreciate the planet and its surroundings have become so much clearer. My heart has been opened to native cultures and their connection to their land. My heart has found contentment keeping only the belongings I need and shedding the things I don’t. I learned a lot about myself thanks to Kimmerer and I’m going to go into a little more detail explaining why.
Nature is something that every human being connects with. We have to! It’s natural to take walks into the great dimension of something bigger than ourselves. Whether you look at the nearest maple tree, reminding you of your similarities. Or looking at the vast abundance of stars and experiencing what it is to be minute. Seeing the concept of time travel just by looking up. I’ve witnessed these emotions as well. Nature has played a significant role in my life and continues to be something that inspires me emotionally and creatively. However, I have never (and can confidently say probably will never) know the obscure connection to nature as a religion, or as a part of my identity. Nature as a connection to past ancestors. Nature bringing me closer to my family. Nature being my family. Nature being my teacher. Braiding Sweetgrass is the closest thing to understanding this way of life. It is a gift to humanity and the world.
“If all the world is a commodity, how poor we grow. When all the world is a gift in motion, how wealthy we become.”
As a woman who grew up in midwestern America, the concept of owning land has always been about wealth. Throughout history, land has been stolen for money or religion or wanting people to think and act like them. People yearned for endless capital. A consumer society has been getting its hands on more land for thousands of years. However, perhaps the people who were broken the most were the indigenous people. Until my eyes were opened to this book, I didn’t understand the appeal. I knew that they were separated from their land, culture, and language, and my heart couldn’t help but ask “Why?” What was the connection to the physical ground that they lived on? My ignorance couldn’t wrap my head around why I should be aware and acknowledge the dirt that I am standing on. And then Robin unveiled the softness of my soul. Land is their identity. Their holy ground defines who they are as a people. Their trees and their homes are what they worship. What they raise their hands to for guidance. Nature is their greatest teacher. When their culture was taken away, they were forced into something completely mysterious. This new culture was shoved down their throats so much so that there was no air for their original language. Many of their words and practices became extinct and no longer remembered. This is the significance of acknowledgment. Identifying these people and listening. Listening to their cries. Their songs. Dancing with them as one. Kimmerer begs her readers to think of what it would be like if we just listened to Mother Earth. What would she be saying? What would the world look like if we cared for her, just as much as she does us? Let’s not rob and steal from a planet that so graciously provides.
“What would it be like to be raised on gratitude, to speak to the natural world as a member of the democracy of species, to raise a pledge of interdependence? What happens to nationalism, to political boundaries, when allegiance lies with winds and waters that know no boundaries, that cannot be bought or sold?”
Another thing worth mentioning about Kimmerer’s novel is her seamless grace through the scientific and spiritual realms. It is so obvious from the beginning that she is a poet. She feels deeply for the people and things she loves. She has a gentle spirit and a selfless demeanor. However, there is another side of her that is astonishingly intelligent. She creates a world in which the readers feel safe. I knew that I could trust her. Her many years of education can prove that, but even in her years of study, she talks of the struggle to see the spiritual life in the college system. The beauty of Kimmerer’s mind is she can see the facts and the logic but also acknowledge nature as a panoply of living creatures. This is evident chapter by chapter. She can truly bask in the glory and beauty of a maple tree or a water lily and know how to care for it properly because she also has science in her spirit. Braiding Sweetgrass is an exemplary combination of both intelligence and softness.
This is a book that has changed me. The themes addressing our consumer society and treatment of our planet are sifted through every page. The passion that is evident in the author’s voice is one that inspired me. The way her beauty, anger, envy, intellect, and poetry were so pure in the mind’s eye, made me feel something. It rooted me in a thinking that is vastly different from before these words were watered in my brain. I would recommend this book to anybody who loves knowledge. I would recommend it to anybody who is an activist for environmentalism or who purely loves the Earth or wants to know more about it. I would recommend it to anybody. The information I received from Robin’s words has made me actively change my mindset and lifestyle. The planet is worth my attention and I will seek silence and allow space to just listen. This can be a conversation between two living beings. It’s time for her to speak.