Braiding Sweetgrass

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants is a 2013 nonfiction book by Robin Wall Kimmerer and published by Milkweed.

Braiding Sweetgrass
AuthorRobin Wall Kimmerer
Audio read byRobin Wall Kimmerer
Cover artistGretchen Achilles
LanguageEnglish
SubjectTraditional ecological knowledge, Indigenous American philosophy, Plant ecology, Botany
GenreNon-fiction Indigenous American philosophy Philosophy of Nature
Set inNorth America
PublisherMilkweed Editions
Publication date
2013
Pages408
Awards2014 Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award
ISBN978-1-57131-335-5 (hardback; alkaline paper)
OCLC829743464
LC ClassE98.P5K56 2013
Preceded byGathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses 
Followed by"Council of the Pecans" in Orion Magazine in 2013 
WebsiteOfficial site

The book is about plants and botany as seen through Native American traditions and Western scientific traditions. The book received largely positive reviews. Robin Kimmerer is known for her scholarship on traditional ecological knowledge, ethnobotany, and moss ecology.

Contents

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants is a 2013 nonfiction book written by Indigenous author Robin Wall Kimmerer and published by Milkweed.[1][2] The book is about the world of botany as described and explored through Native American traditions.[3] Kimmerer, who is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, also shares stories about her own experiences working with plants and learning to become reunited with her own people's cultural traditions.[3] She also gives a background on history in relation to plants and also discusses botany through a scientific perspective.[3][4]

American Indian Quarterly writes that Braiding Sweetgrass is a book about traditional ecological knowledge and environmental humanities.[4] Kimmerer combines her training in Western scientific methods and her Native American knowledge about sustainable land stewardship to describe a more joyful and ecological way of using our land in Braiding Sweetgrass.[5]

Kimmerer said about the book that "I wanted readers to understand that Indigenous knowledge and Western science are both powerful ways of knowing, and that by using them together we can imagine a more just and joyful relationship with the Earth."[6] Plants described in the book include squash, algae, goldenrod, pecans and the eponymous sweetgrass.[7][8]

Honors and awards

Kimmerer received the 2014 Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award for her book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants.[9]

Reviews

Native Studies Review writes that Braiding Sweetgrass is a "book to savour and to read again and again."[10]

Heather Sullivan writes in the "Journal of Germanic Studies" that "one occasionally encounters a text like an earthquake: it shakes one’s fundamental assumptions with a massive shift that, in comparison, renders mere epiphanies bloodless: Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass is one of these kinds of books.” [11]

Sue O'Brian in "Library Journal" wrote "Kimmerer writes of investigating the natural world with her students and her efforts to protect and restore plants, animals, and land. A trained scientist who never loses sight of her Native heritage, she speaks of approaching nature with gratitude and giving back in return for what we receive. VERDICT Anyone who enjoys reading about natural history, botany, protecting nature, or Native American culture will love this book".[12]

Kathleen D. Moore in "The Bryologist" says that ""Braiding Sweetgrass" is far more than a memoir or a field guide. I would call it a wisdom book, because I believe that Robin has something world-changing to pass along, an ethos she has learned by listening closely to plants".[13]

The Tribal College Journal wrote "Each chapter is an adventurous journey into the world of plants."[5] Publishers Weekly call Kimmerer a "mesmerizing storyteller" in Braiding Sweetgrass.[8]

The Star Tribune writes that Kimmerer is able to give readers the ability to see the common world in a new way.[14]

References
  1. "Braiding Sweetgrass". NPR. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  2. "Braiding sweetgrass : indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants". WorldCat. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  3. O'Brien, Sue (2013). "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants". Library Journal. 138 (13): 114 – via EBSCOhost.
  4. Barnd, Natchee (2015). "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants". American Indian Quarterly. 39 (4): 439–41. doi:10.5250/amerindiquar.39.4.0439.
  5. Krohn, Elise (Winter 2014). "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants". Tribal College Journal. 26 (2): 45 – via EBSCOhost.
  6. "Weaving Science With Tradition". South Dakota Magazine: 13. 2 September 2017 – via EBSCOhost.
  7. Keville, Kathi (September 2016). "Braiding Sweetgrass". American Herb Association Quarterly Newsletter. 31 (3): 8 – via EBSCOhost.
  8. "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  9. Hertzel, Laurie. "Braiding Sweetgrass" wins Sigurd Olson nature writing award, Star Tribune, May 7, 2014.
  10. Turner, Nancy J. (2016). "Braiding Sweetgrass. Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants". Native Studies Review. 23 (1): 161–164 – via EBSCOhost.
  11. Sullivan, Heather (2016). "Robin Wall Kimmerer. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants". Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies. 55 (4): 425–427. doi:10.3138/seminar.55.4.rev005.
  12. O'Brian, Sue (2013). "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by R. W. Kimmerer". Library Journal. 138 (13): 115 – via EBSCOhost.
  13. Moore, Kathleen Dean (2013). "Review: Rooted in Mosses". The Bryologist. 116 (4): 407–408. doi:10.1639/BRYOLOGIST-D-13-00070.1. JSTOR 43188736. S2CID 88227255.
  14. Wilkinson, Elizabeth (31 October 2013). "REVIEW: 'Braiding Sweetgrass,' by Robin Wall Kimmerer". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
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