Braiding Sweetgrass: A Celebration of Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

Ursula Leonore: A beautiful book that stimulates much food for thought about nature, indigenous culture and universal values.

Canada on Mar 07, 2024

Teaberry Farm: This is one of the best books i have ever read (and i have read hundreds). It changed the way i look at life and how i live that precious gift of life. The author is a poet, a scientist and a teacher and her writing reflects all of those facets. She brings the wisdom of the indigenous world, and that of Mother Nature to life and helps one see how to make your own life better and fuller.
I am recommending it to my friends and family as a MUST read.

United States on Mar 02, 2024

Vic: Braiding Sweetgrass is one of the most profoundly moving and illuminating books I’ve read in a long time. Kimmerer is a distinguished professor of Environmental Biology and an enrolled member of the of the Potawatomi Nation, a northern tribe whose ancestral lands are around the Great Lakes. Broken treaties with the US Government finally forced them to move to Indian Territory in Oklahoma.

Sweetgrass is translated as the “sweet smelling hair of Mother Earth” and represent the union of mind, body and spirit. In the preface, Kimmerer describes the book as “a braid of stories to heal our relationship with the world.” She weaves together science, spirt and story “that can be medicine for our broken relationship with earth.”

Each chapter is to be savored and read slowly. Her prose is achingly beautiful, moving me to tears of wonder as she describes the interrelationship of various plants, such as the brilliant symbiosis of 'The Three Sisters,' beans, squash and corn. Or – the amazing life cycle of the pecan tree or the many uses of cattails; who knew?

I was also moved to tears of grief when she describes the horrible legacy of the Indian Boarding...

United States on Feb 26, 2024

Sue: Almost like reading a textbook. It was hard to stay focused sometimes, but I would often reread a section when I realized I missed something worth understanding.

United States on Feb 21, 2024

JMiller: From the opening where Robin Wall Kimmerer relays the origin story of Skywomen Falling, I was transfixed. Having grown up on the Great Lakes, I'd never heard this story before, but feel more kinship with it than the creation stories I was raised on.
Kimmerer's storytelling is magical and as the book progresses she weaves in her Western scientific trainings and her native plant knowledge to paint a broad painting of our relationship with the land we live on. My biggest take-away is the indigenous ways of living in reciprocity with the land. May be all inspire to live more like this everyday. It is our best hope for working to combat all the human caused challenges our planet is facing today.
Hope you enjoy this read as much as I did.

United States on Feb 11, 2024

Sherry Sharpnack: Robin Wall Kimmerer is a botany professor and enrolled in the Potawatomie nation. She calls herself a poet, and her prose is indeed poetic. While reading, I felt like I was sitting and listening to an elder tell stories. In the Ashininaabe origin story (the tribe by which Kimmerer lives in upstate New York), Skywoman fell to earth landing on the back of a turtle, which carried her to dry land. In her pocket were sweetgrass seeds, and thus, sweetgrass became the founding plant of the people. Sweetgrass becomes the metaphor for how the people are to care for the land and in return, be sustained by it, because sweetgrass has to be tended by humans for it to thrive. In return, it provided many tools to sustain the people: sustenance and material to use as survival. The book is divided up into five sections in the care and use of sweetgrass: planting, tending, picking, braiding, and burning. Since sweetgrass is so important to the life of the people, it can never be sold: it must always be a gift. A gift is given, w/ no expectation of reward. You've done nothing to earn it. Your role is to be "open-eyed and present." (pp. 23-24) "From the viewpoint of a private property economy, the...

United States on Jan 26, 2024

renate: A really good read for anybody interested in learning about ecosystems and humans' relationship with nature. Most of these books deal with animals but this one is written by a botanist and deals with the kingdom of plants - very touching and informative.

Germany on Jan 23, 2024

J: This is my all time favourite read. Read it, read it, read it! It is exactly what it says on the cover 'a hymm of love for our World'. Beautifully written. So grateful to have found this book.

United Kingdom on Jan 15, 2024

NYgal: El libro es una combinación de filosofíade los nativos americanos, botánica y poesía. Es una hermosa explicación y tributo a la Tierra y su generosidad.

Spain on Dec 04, 2023

Andrea Diblik Villaseñor: Nos conecta con la sabiduría ancestral y nos hace reflexionar sobre todo lo que intentaron quitarnos al acabar con los nativos.
Es un libro que les sacara lagrimas de felicidad y otras veces de tristeza por aquello que ya no es.
Lo deberían estar leyendo todos en la preparatoria para así hacernos consientes de que cada cambio que hacemos por insignificante que parezca no lo es todo ayuda a la madre tierra.

Mexico on Jul 21, 2021