Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
4.7 | 22,759 ratings
Price: 21.77
Last update: 02-02-2026
Top reviews from the United States
- Vic20 Stars! A profound, moving, informative book with achingly beautiful proseBraiding 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 Schools in the late 1800’s. The schools were a form of cultural genocide, but the stories, wisdom and knowledge of native lifeways went underground and endured, a testament to the resiliency of native peoples.
The basic premise of the book is reciprocity and an ‘I – Thou’ relationship with all of creation, to borrow a phrase from Martin Buber. The land gives back to us when we care for the land. Plants, animals, insects, etc. – are all ‘family,’ and one is much less likely (or at least, think twice) about inflicting harm when the relationship is personal, heartfelt and genuine.
Gratitude is the other overarching theme, which is strongly rooted in Native cultures. She describes the Thanksgiving Address of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which begins a school day or before an important meeting. It is gratitude directed to all of the earth’s species on land and water (including water itself.) The entire address can take up to an hour, as thanks is bestowed upon each element. Each segment ends with “Now our minds are one.” If you don’t read the book, I recommend looking up the Thanksgiving Address. It can be shortened to incorporate into a daily gratitude practice.
In my view, this book is a masterpiece of ecological, historical non-fiction. It is inspiring and hopeful; a call to action. As Kimmerer says…”we are the ones who will bend to the task of putting things back together to rekindle the flames of the sacred fire to begin the rebirth of a nation.” - Sherry SharpnackPoetic Prose Detailing Our Responsibility to Mother EarthRobin 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 'gift' is deemed to be 'free' b/c we obtain it free of charge, at no cost. But in the gift economy, gifts are not free. The essence of the gift is that it creates a set of relationships. The currency of a gift economy is, at its root, reciprocity. In Western thinking, private land is understood to be a 'bundle of rights,' whereas in a gift economy property as a 'bundle of responsibilities' attached." p. 28. Therein lies the fundamental conflict between colonizing and indigenous peoples throughout time.
I particularly enjoyed Kimmerer's chapter on restoring a pond on her property. It had silted over, grown over by strangling plants. She worked for years on this pond, losing and winning different battles w/ the invasive species. The passage of time was marked by the growth, aging, and finally, death, of her pup, whom she buried beside the restored pond. "The pond built my muscles, wove my baskets, mulched my garden, made my tea, and trellised my morning glories. Our lives became entwined in ways both material and spiritual. It's been a balanced exchange: I worked on the pond and the pond worked on me. and together we made a good home." (p. 95) What a metaphor for reciprocity! "...reciprocity is imperative for long-lasting, successful restoration. ... Humans exercise their caregiving responsibility for the ecosystems that sustain them. We restore the land, and the land restores us." (p. 336) "It's our turn now, long overdue. Let us hold a giveaway for Mother Earth, spread our blankets out for her and pile them high w/ gifts of our own making" - books, poems, paintings, compassionate acts, clever ideas, and "perfect" tools. "The fierce defense of all that has been given. ... Whatever our gift, we are called to give it and dance for the renewal of the world.
In return for the privilege of breath." (p. 384)
What a lovely - and sobering - book. 5 full stars.