Learn about partnership with nature through “Braiding Sweetgrass”
This is the opinion of Taylor Barber, CSB junior.
There are many ways to lead a life around environmentalism. You can write and advocate, you can make more conscious choices and you can even protest.
One way that I never even considered until I began reading “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer was allowing myself to be more appreciative and selective with the gifts that Earth provides to us. This partnership that we have with nature is not a one-way street; we have a duty as human beings to celebrate what gifts she gives us and to reciprocate them.
Kimmerer highlights this in “Braiding Sweetgrass.” She writes about her own connections to Earth as an indigenous woman and how there are many ways to celebrate the offerings we receive by protecting what we have. Kimmerer is a renowned botanist as well as a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, and she approaches the science she has dedicated her life to with a wider vision than most scientists.
Kimmerer acknowledges both the scientific importance of plants and nature while also cherishing the life that is provided to us through these organisms. Throughout the novel, she highlights how we as humans must approach Mother Earth with not only the intent of knowledge and support, but with the vision that much of what we receive is a gift that needs to be returned. Whether we return it through conservation or sustainable practices, “Braiding Sweetgrass” is a wonderful reminder that all we receive from nature is sacred and should be cherished.
Kimmerer will be presenting “Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants” on Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. in the Pellegrene Auditorium. She is able to come speak with us about her research and practices through the CSB+SJU Environmental Studies Department–I highly recommend attending if you can!
If you aren’t able to, consider attending another guest lecture on the similar topics of “Envisioning Political, Spiritual, and Ecological Transformation” on Oct. 24 with author, economist, activist and Mississippi Band Anishinaabeg member Winona LaDuke. Both of these lectures will be wonderful and help us all to widen our visions as we look to a future Earth, along with reading “Braiding Sweetgrass.”