Braiding sweetgrass / Robin Wall Kimmerer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kimmerer, Robin Wall, 1953- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Kimmerer, Robin Wall, 1953-.

Indian philosophy--North America.

Ethnoecology.

Philosophy of nature.

Human ecology--Philosophy.

Nature--Effect of human beings on.

Human-plant relationships.

Botany--Philosophy.

Potawatomi Indians--Biography.

Potawatomi Indians--Social life and customs.

Indians of North America.

Philosophy.

Botany.

Nature--Essays.

Nature--Plants--General.

Science--Life Sciences--Botany.

Indians, North American.

Nature.

philosophy.

botany.

Indian philosophy.

Potawatomi Indians.

North America.

Medical Subjects:

Indians, North American.

Philosophy.

Botany.

Nature.

Genre:

Biographies.

Autobiographies.

autobiographies (literary works)

Autobiographies

Biographies

Physical Description:

x, 390 pages ; 23 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

Braiding sweetgrass : indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants

Place of Publication:

Minneapolis, Minnesota : Milkweed Editions, 2013.

Summary:

"An inspired weaving of indigenous knowledge, plant science, and personal narrative from a distinguished professor of science and a Native American whose previous book, Gathering Moss, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing. As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowing together to reveal what it means to see humans as "the younger brothers of creation." As she explores these themes she circles toward a central argument: the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgement and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the world. Once we begin to listen for the languages of other beings, we can begin to understand the innumerable life-giving gifts the world provides us and learn to offer our thanks, our care, and our own gifts in return"-- Provided by publisher.

"As a leading researcher in the field of biology, Robin Wall Kimmerer understands the delicate state of our world. But as an active member of the Potawatomi nation, she senses and relates to the world through a way of knowing far older than any science. In Braiding Sweetgrass, she intertwines these two modes of awareness--the analytic and the emotional, the scientific and the cultural--to ultimately reveal a path toward healing the rift that grows between people and nature. The woven essays that construct this book bring people back into conversation with all that is green and growing; a universe that never stopped speaking to us, even when we forgot how to listen"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Preface

Planting Sweetgrass: Skywoman falling ; The council of pecans ; The gift of strawberries ; An offering ; Asters and goldenrod ; Learning the grammar of animacy

Tending Sweetgrass: Maple sugar moon ; Witch hazel ; A mother's work ; The consolation of water lilies ; Allegiance to gratitude

Picking Sweetgrass: Epiphany in the beans ; The three sisters ; Wisgaak Gokpenagen : a black ash basket ; Mishkos Kenomagwen : the teachings of grass ; Maple nation : a citizenship guide ; The honorable harvest

Braiding Sweetgrass: In the footsteps of Nanabozho : becoming indigenous to place ; The sound of silverbells ; Sitting in a circle ; Burning cascade head ; Putting down roots ; Umbilicaria : the belly button of the world ; Old-growth children ; Witness to the rain

Burning Sweetgrass: Windigo footprints ; The sacred and the superfund ; People of corn, people of light ; Collateral damage ; Shkitagen : People of the seventh fire ; Defeating Windigo

Epilogue: Returning the gift

Notes ; Sources ; Acknowledgments.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 387-388).

Local Notes:

HSP Copy: Indian Rights Association Complementary Collection

Athenaeum copy: Burt fund bookplate.

Other Format:

Online version: Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Braiding sweetgrass

ISBN:

9781571313355

1571313354

9781571313560

1571313567

OCLC:

829743464

Online:

Additional Information at Google Books